Super Mothership
Nie Yun had never believed in personal heroism. He knew that his greatest advantage lay in the sheer number of his subordinates—so many that they could be counted in trillions upon trillions.
The only reason he had previously chosen to personally infiltrate enemy territory was because he simply couldn’t find anyone else suitable for the task.
The metal properties of his mechanical insect avatars made them far too easy to detect; under the scans of various biological detection devices, disguising them as Arthas was nearly impossible.
He had recruited plenty of biological underlings as well, but the only one with real potential as a spy had been turned into a child soldier by his own hand—its memory fragmented, its professional skills seriously degraded.
As for selecting elites from among humans, they struggled to cope with the ever-changing alien environments. And in any case, Nie Yun could hardly entrust the fate of everyone to someone else’s hands.
A supreme commander sneaking into enemy territory to play secret agent—something like a cosmic 007—Nie Yun might well be the first in the entire universe to attempt such a bizarre feat…
But now the situation had changed. Arthas was about to follow Ishar to the Wulf Wormhole to take part in battle.
That place was nothing like the frontier systems near Proxima. Even if he were accidentally exposed there, he couldn’t just flip the table, reveal all his trump cards, and fight his way back to the Solar System!
If he really plunged deep into the heart of Gemini, distances of tens or even hundreds of light-years—coupled with the fact that every critical wormhole choke point would surely be heavily guarded by Gemini fleets—meant that fighting his way back would be no different from a cosmic version of “crossing five passes and slaying six generals.” Even with endless swarms, Gemini could still grind him to death.
Beyond the question of safety, there was another crucial technical issue—the maximum communication range of the mechanical insects.
Although at the current 4.2 light-year distance between the two star systems Nie Yun could still control them freely, which proved that their range was definitely greater than that… what would happen if the distance increased to 10 light-years, 20 light-years, or even over a hundred?
If, after passing through the wormhole, he suddenly lost contact with all his mechanical insects in the Solar System… that would be ridiculously awkward.
What excuse could he possibly give to come back then? Claim he needed a bathroom break?
As the saying goes, “A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall.” So no—there was no way he would go in person.
But Arthas’s identity was strategic-level. As long as “he” existed, intelligence on Gemini would continue to flow back steadily, preserving Nie Yun’s overwhelming advantage of information asymmetry.
In fact, much of his ability to handle Gemini so effortlessly was owed to this super-spy. Naturally, he couldn’t simply abandon such an asset.
The truth was, Nie Yun had anticipated today’s situation long ago. From early on, he had been planning a “decoy” to shed his skin like a cicada.
Whether it was collecting Arthas’s blood and storing it at ultra-low temperatures, or quietly borrowing the Feather Clan’s bodies to develop a neural puppet-control technique, all of it was preparation for creating and manipulating this “decoy.”
Finally, by hiring the Kara civilization to provide technical support, and using Arthas’s blood as material, with an Eternal as the cultivation medium and Life Water as a catalyst, the resulting clone had effects that far exceeded Nie Yun’s expectations!
During the embryonic stage, the Kara people had used special methods to erase its consciousness, leaving it physiologically no different from a vegetable.
Its brainstem still possessed normal bodily functions, able to digest and absorb nutrients delivered into its body, maintaining metabolism, breathing, heartbeat, blood pressure, and so on.
But this flesh had no consciousness, sensation, or thought. It was the perfect vessel for Nie Yun’s puppet-control technique.
Moreover, thanks to its luxurious cultivation conditions, the usual genetic flaws found in clones had been greatly reduced. Its physical abilities were two to three times greater than those of ordinary Feather Clan, and with regular treatment using Life Water, even long-term use would not risk genetic distortion.
Experiments proved that even Gemini’s specialized gene-detection instruments, designed specifically to expose clones, could not uncover this body’s secret!
This decoy was an even more perfect “impostor” than Nie Yun himself could ever create—after all, he could never mimic Arthas at the genetic level.
…
Nie Yun closed his eyes and shifted his consciousness into the clone.
Aboard the Fallen Angel, tens of millions of kilometers away, “Arthas”—who had been in standby mode in the commander’s quarters—slowly opened his eyes.
He stood, stretched, spread his chest, kicked his legs, bent sideways…
“Huff… ha-ha~”
After completing a full set of the “Release Your Ideals” calisthenics routine, the clone finished today’s warm-up.
Even a clone required careful maintenance—certain amounts of exercise to keep bodily functions intact were absolutely necessary. At least, that was what the Kara people’s maintenance manual said…
After warming up, he stuffed a high-energy nutrition bar into the clone’s mouth. Just as he was about to switch his consciousness back to his main body, Catherine knocked on the door asking to see him.
“What is it?” Nie Yun asked, opening the door to let her in.
“The family’s latest intelligence. The council has already made a preliminary decision on this round of negotiations…”
Catherine then briefly summarized the information she had obtained.
“Hmm! That result’s not bad at all, hehe…” Nie Yun chuckled. “Since nobody’s pursuing that one ton of energy crystals, you can keep them. If you need anything, feel free to use them as you see fit.”
Those energy crystals had originally been meant to show off the “wealth and power” of the One-With-All Society—an implicit reminder to everyone of the staggering profits in crystal trading.
So long as greed existed in their hearts, Gemini would never be able to refuse this business.
For Nie Yun, this batch of crystals was just shifting from one hand to the other—not only at no loss to himself, but also openly funding his own spy with “operational expenses.”
Arthas had everything—heritage, background—but his finances were truly a problem.
Before Nie Yun had killed him, the guy had basically been living paycheck to paycheck…
The greatest value of Arthas’s identity lay in gathering intelligence. And when it came to intelligence gathering, aside from status and position, money was often the more effective key.
In this area, Catherine had been of immense help to Nie Yun.
As his adjutant, Catherine wasn’t just responsible for managing an entire detached fleet on his behalf. She also had to consolidate and organize intelligence from both within the fleet and from the Cruze family, reporting regularly to the reclusive Nie Yun.
Information gathering was Catherine’s specialty. With her personal abilities thoroughly enhanced, she was now even more adept at it, sparing Nie Yun a great deal of worry.
And now, with this fund, whether it was winning over hearts or prying out secrets, she would be greatly empowered.
But… the person herself seemed to feel differently.
At this moment, Catherine was genuinely moved.
An entire ton of energy crystals—an astronomical sum that could drive ordinary people insane—had been entrusted to her without the slightest precaution.
There was no need to ask; knowing Nie Yun’s style, he would never bother to check itemized expenses…
“Yes! I will make the best use of these funds!” Catherine nodded firmly, without the slightest false modesty.
Then, as she looked at the “Arthas” before her, a hesitant expression appeared on her face.
That faint sense of presence… so he really does care about it after all…
“What is it? Do I have something on my face?” Nie Yun asked in puzzlement.
“No, it’s just… I feel your life force has weakened a lot. I worry about your body…” Catherine’s eyes carried a trace of concern.
Could it be that he had overdone his experiments, damaging his own spirit in the process?
“So that’s what you mean…” Nie Yun let out a laugh.
Looks like the disguise still isn’t perfect. Time to put on a show…
The next moment, Nie Yun summoned his spiritual power. An even greater tide of consciousness descended over the entire Fallen Angel!
The Fallen Angel had long since become part of the swarm. At this instant, the ship was Nie Yun, and Nie Yun was the ship.
Catherine felt Nie Yun’s presence rapidly swelling, then gradually spreading outward into the surrounding space.
She felt as if she were inside the maw of some terrifying beast—her mind went blank for a moment.
Only then did she realize: this wasn’t spiritual damage at all. On the contrary, this was a breakthrough! His power had surged, returning to an even purer state!
The vast spiritual field surging all around gave Catherine the feeling of being suppressed by a higher lifeform’s sheer existence…
“Guh… th-this… what is this?” she swallowed hard.
“Hehe! I call it… Harmony between Heaven and Man!”
The mechanical insects: “…”
TL Note- Trap?
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