Chapter 171: Show of Hands

Chapter 171: Show of Hands

The situation in the Sykes Civilization seemed to undergo a subtle shift due to a message sent from the Wasteland Planet.

This change, seemingly minor, had far-reaching consequences.

The support for the Exodus Faction increased by two to three percentage points, which might not seem significant, but when applied to individual Sykes citizens, it amounted to tens of millions.

A single reminder message led tens of millions to change their minds and support the Exodus Faction, an impact that couldn't be considered insignificant.

And this reminder message, unfortunately, was sent by Lu Heng.

Lu Heng hadn't anticipated that things would turn out this way.

After careful recollection, he confirmed that among the leaders of the Exodus Faction in his previous life, there was no one named Liorana Sexes.

In other words, Liorana Sexes likely chose to join the Exodus Faction and became a faction leader due to the message sent by her father, Lakrini Sexes.

Lakrini Sexes' warning had become a propaganda slogan for the Exodus Faction, so it wasn't surprising that his daughter, Liorana Sexes, was promoted to the position of faction leader.

"Given the current situation, Nagakawa Tomo has probably already gained some power within the Exodus Faction, and it's likely we won't be able to join them easily," Su Muyu said after reading the online information, feeling the situation was unfavorable for their side.

Lu Heng pondered for a moment and said, "Not necessarily."

"Have you figured out a way to break the stalemate?" Su Muyu immediately guessed that Lu Heng had a plan.

Lu Heng began searching for information about Liorana Sexes in the Sykes Civilization's media, and based on the news reports, he determined the city she was in.

As a faction leader, Liorana Sexes needed to travel to various places to give speeches and gain more supporters.

Therefore, the news would report on her speeches, and there might even be announcements about the speech venues.

"We'll directly find this Liorana Sexes, no need for intermediaries. We'll just go and talk to her. She has a speech in City 3 tomorrow, and we can find out where she's staying and arrange a meeting," Lu Heng decided to bypass intermediaries and directly negotiate with the faction leader.

The next day, after Liorana Sexes' speech ended, Su Muyu used the Divine Feathered Eagle to track her and confirm her evening residence.

After 8 p.m., Lu Heng and the other two arrived at Liorana Sexes' residence and explained their purpose to the surveillance camera at the entrance. Before long, the door opened.

A domestic robot stood at the door, scanning them with a beam of light before leading them into the house.

The interior of the house had a classical style with a touch of Cyber Renaissance and a mix of science fiction, creating a unique atmosphere.

At that moment, Liorana Sexes was using a biomimetic skin care device to smooth out the skin on her arms.

Biomimetic skin was indeed the cutting-edge technology of the Sykes Civilization, but it required regular maintenance to maintain its texture.

"Hello, Miss Sexes, or should I say, Madam?" Lu Heng greeted her first.

"I know who you are, mutants from the human civilization, but you are dangerous elements. I need to remind you that this house has the highest level of security, and with just one signal from me, you'll be captured and sent to the federal prison," Liorana Sexes spoke in a less-than-friendly tone.

Lu Heng frowned and said, "We mean no harm."

Liorana Sexes let out a scoff that even humans could recognize, then turned on the holographic display screen and played a news report.

The news was about an incident of alien creatures escaping from the Robo Beast Arena, and the photo accompanying the report was of Lu Heng and the others.

Lu Heng glanced at the news and spread his hands, "We just don't want to become playthings for the Robo Beasts, and we haven't done anything extreme. On the contrary, there's a traitor among your people."

"Oh? Are you referring to the attacks we faced yesterday during our two attempts to make contact?" Liorana Sexes was already aware of the previous day's events.

"It's obvious that the meeting location and time were leaked," Lu Heng said.

"It could also be that you leaked it yourselves, and you know nothing about our civilization's technology. Monitoring your location isn't that difficult," Liorana Sexes didn't believe there was a traitor among them.

Perhaps others couldn't escape the ubiquitous surveillance network of the Sykes Civilization.

But Lu Heng and his companions had the ability to do so.

The civilian surveillance network of the Sykes Civilization relied more on infrared scanning, and Su Muyu's invisibility skill could block infrared scans.

As for more advanced surveillance technology, it wasn't as widely available.

Lu Heng's extensive experience meant that the possibility of being monitored was non-existent.

Lu Heng then asked, "I have a question. Once I confirm this question, I'll know where the problem lies. Not long ago, was there a human who joined a faction?"

Liorana Sexes narrowed her eyes, not answering the question. "What are you trying to say?"

Seeing her reaction, Lu Heng had already guessed the answer.

The fact that she didn't respond confirmed that his guess was correct.

If no human had joined, she could have simply said no, and there would be no need for secrecy.

Lu Heng smiled and said, "It seems you trust this person, but it's best to heed my advice. This person is dangerous."

In fact, having probed to this extent, it was already certain that Nagakawa Tomo had entered earlier and joined the Exodus Faction. He had even met Liorana Sexes and gained her trust.

The human who joined the Exodus Faction could only be Nagakawa Tomo.

This time, the danger level of the Abyss Battlefield was 5, and it was a source essence battle. The scale wouldn't be small, with at least 30 people or more.

Therefore, there must be other human Mutants summoned.

However, these summoned Mutants had all been teleported in recently and couldn't have gained power in the Exodus Faction so quickly.

Only Nagakawa Tomo had entered earlier, and due to the different time flows between the two worlds, he might have been there for over a month.

With so much time, it was enough for him to climb to a high position within the Exodus Faction.

Liorana Sexes smiled and said, "As expected, he anticipated that you would come looking for him, and you would try to slander him, wanting to create discord among our faction members. Everything is as he predicted."

Lu Heng's expression froze, and his eyebrows furrowed.

The situation was far more complicated than anticipated.

"What else did he say? I'm quite curious."

"He also said that you would slander him and then use the intelligence from the Abyss to make a deal with me. You did bring intelligence related to the Abyss, didn't you?" Liorana Sexes seemed to have seen through everything.

A smile appeared on Lu Heng's lips, and he said, "So you chose to believe him instead of us, right?"

Liorana Sexes remained calm and replied, "Of course. You shouldn't expect me to trust your words on our first meeting."

Lu Heng looked around and said, "If I'm not mistaken, that person also suggested that after meeting us, you should capture or even kill us directly. There should be powerful robots lying in wait in this house, right?"

Liorana Sexes didn't deny it, nodding and saying, "Chatting with you is quite interesting, but your actions are all within my expectations."

She glanced at the time and said, "Your time is running out. If you can't persuade me within five minutes, I'll have to eliminate you to prevent future troubles."

"Since I dared to come here, I must have a trump card, and it's one that person doesn't know about," Lu Heng remained calm.

"Show your trump card. You have four and a half minutes left," Liorana Sexes said coldly, as if she was about to lose patience.

Lu Heng took a deep breath and put on a serious expression. "I've met your father, Lakrini Sexes."

Liorana Sexes' face immediately turned angry, and she scolded, "You have no right to mention my father! The contributions he made to civilization are beyond the understanding of you worms!"

Seeing how much she cared about her father, Lu Heng's smile grew brighter, and he changed the subject, asking, "After talking for so long, don't you feel that my voice sounds a bit familiar?"

Liorana Sexes' eyes narrowed, and her computer brain quickly analyzed Lu Heng's voice pattern, immediately discovering the issue.

She scolded coldly, "How dare you imitate that recording! You're challenging my limits!"

The recording sent was indeed Lu Heng's own voice, but the Exodus Faction had released it during their propaganda.

Therefore, with intention and effort, obtaining this recording wasn't difficult.

So, imitating the voice pattern of this recording wasn't too challenging.

Lu Heng scratched his head and spread his hands, saying, "I sent this recording, so there's no need for imitation."

Liorana Sexes narrowed her eyes. "Do you know what will happen if you deceive me?"

Lu Heng spread his hands. "How about this. I have evidence that I met your father, and I can show it to you. But in exchange, you hand over Nagakawa Tomo to me. Deal?"

Liorana Sexes's face remained stern, and she coldly huffed, "You're thinking too much. You want to exchange faction members just based on a proof of authenticity that could be fake?"

Lu Heng shrugged, "If I can't prove it, then you can just order your people to take action. If I do have evidence that I've met your father, then handing over the traitor by your side shouldn't be too much to ask of you."

Liorana Sexes was highly analytical, and she immediately understood the pros and cons of the situation from the start.

However, Lu Heng's mention of her father caused her emotions to fluctuate, making it difficult for her anger to subside.

After a brief silence, Liorana Sexes spoke in a cold voice, "Alright, show me the evidence."

In truth, she also wanted to know what had happened to her father in his final moments.

Lu Heng waved his hand and sent out a radio signal, summoning the Mechanical Tiger into the room.

The Mechanical Tiger entered and walked into the living room, then bowed down to Liorana Sexes, performing a gesture of respect.

Upon seeing the Mechanical Tiger, Liorana Sexes's expression froze.

This was her father's mechanical beast and guardian.

Moreover, this Mechanical Tiger was numbered 101, an early model of a mechanical guardian.

The Mechanical Tiger's owner information had Lakrini Sexes as the primary owner, Liorana Sexes as the secondary owner, and Lu Heng as the third owner.

Therefore, when the Mechanical Tiger entered, it prostrated itself before Liorana Sexes.

"Anka!"

Liorana Sexes's face showed surprise as she called out the Mechanical Tiger's name.

This was the name she had given the Mechanical Tiger when she was young—Anka! She recognized it not by its appearance, as the Mechanical Tiger's shape could freely change due to the properties of liquid metal.

Her method of identifying the Mechanical Tiger was straightforward; she just needed to connect to its signal and check its serial number.

So, with just a glance, she recognized it as her father's guardian mechanical beast.

"Why is Anka with you?" Liorana Sexes was perplexed.

She had checked the Mechanical Tiger's owner information and found Lu Heng's details.

In other words, Lu Heng was the third owner of the Mechanical Tiger.

Lu Heng explained, "This is Mr. Lakrini. He gifted me this as a token of appreciation for delivering a message on his behalf. You should know better than I do that without Mr. Lakrini's consent, I couldn't have become Anka's owner."

Liorana Sexes naturally understood this; the procedure was tied to the mechanical core, and unless the core was destroyed, the program couldn't be altered.

In other words, the third owner information in the Mechanical Tiger's mechanical core proved that Lakrini had personally given his guardian mechanical beast to Lu Heng.

Liorana Sexes's expression shifted from shock to confusion as she muttered, "You really met my father..."

"Yes, I met him and did a small favor for him. I never expected that the message I delivered would become a faction slogan," Lu Heng sighed.

Liorana Sexes's hostile attitude softened, and she asked about her father's condition, "How was he before...?"

Despite her mechanical modifications, her actions showed that she still cherished their parent-child bond.

"Not too well," Lu Heng briefly explained the situation from back then, "His brain was preserved in a cultivation pod and had been locked up for fifteen years."

However, he omitted several crucial pieces of information.

The first omitted detail was that Lakrini Sexes's brain had been corrupted by the Abyss.

The second omitted detail was that Lu Heng had personally killed Lakrini Sexes's brain.

For Lakrini Sexes, death was a release.

Lu Heng had helped him find that release.

But if he told Liorana Sexes this information, he would be admitting to being the killer of her father.

Therefore, Lu Heng simply omitted these critical details, stating that he had met Lakrini Sexes, delivered a message on his behalf, and received the Mechanical Tiger as a reward.

Liorana Sexes waved her hand, summoning Anka to her side, and gently stroked its body, "Anka, did you stay by Father's side all this time? Good boy..."

Seizing the moment, Lu Heng pressed, "Then, according to our initial agreement, can you hand over Nagakawa Tomo to me? Or at least tell me his location."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end