Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 522

Chapter 520, Come to Steal

Within the Dragon Eagle Star Region, no one could ignore the Ming Yang Sect’s presence.

These oilmen suffered heavy losses during the Iron Teeth War. Their pride, their cherished mechanical ark, was destroyed. Furthermore, Jindi Planet was directly attacked by the Iron Teeth Greenskins on the ground. This Forge World was even their primary target. The brutal ground battle may not have lasted long, but its intensity was immense.

Such a war, waged in their own core base, was incredibly destructive.

Numerous industrial facilities suffered varying degrees of damage, and the loss of life was significant, significantly reducing Jindi Planet’s productivity.

Beyond these basic needs, the war also decimated the ranks of senior technical personnel.

Over twenty ruling bishops perished in the war, and even the highest-ranking members of the Ming Yang Sect, the Master Sages, suffered casualties.

The Mechanicus is unique in this respect. As high-ranking members, they wield power and command the military. When war breaks out, they are often present, if not directly at the forefront. Many of the Mechanicus’s combat methods and weaponry require high-ranking members of the Mechanicus to master; otherwise, even their operation is problematic.

Archbishops, who have undergone extensive mechanical modifications and even directly control certain war machines, and even Magos of the Principality, possess considerable combat power themselves.

While these Archbishops and Magos of the Principality possess the combined value of management, command, and high-end combat power, their most important value lies in their technical expertise.

Almost every Archbishop and above possesses a crucial, irreplaceable technology.

Upon their death, this technology is not lost; records are generally left behind. Since they are already deceased, it’s not difficult to plunder their independent laboratories and workshops.

However, even acquiring the data still requires re-mastering and re-learning. Furthermore, if the data is damaged or missing, or if the laboratory was destroyed in the previous war… all of this would result in a loss of technical details, thus impacting the production capacity of certain equipment.

This isn’t just mass-produced equipment; the loss of these Engine Prophets, Dominion Archons, and even the Sages of the Main Trade would completely end the production of some precision-crafted products. These

precision-crafted products require the hand-finishing and polishing of top-tier technicians like these. The “hand-finished” part is in quotation marks because the heavily modified bodies of the Mechanicus’ senior members, the robotic arms that emanate from their crimson robes, require a craftsmanship far more precise than conventional lathes or machinery.

Their bodies are essentially integrated, high-precision workbenches.

Without these numerous senior members, the number of these non-mass-produced precision-crafted products, a symbol of the Mechanicus’ heritage, would be drastically reduced.

Loss of production capacity, technology, and personnel… The Iron Teeth Green Tide was a devastating blow to the Mechanicus.

And even after the victory, they didn’t reap any benefits.

Although the Ming Yang Cult expanded its influence from being limited to Jin Di Star to the entire Steel Fire Dragon Star region after the war, also occupying the surrounding Dragon Tamers and Dragon Pass sectors,

Gu Hang saw it as a move geared more towards self-preservation.

Territory isn’t really a concern for the Mechanicus. Their primary concern is technology, followed by precious raw materials, and thirdly, production capacity…

everything else takes a back seat.

After winning the Iron Teeth War, did they receive sufficient supplies in these three areas?

No.

Expanding their territory was a necessity. They needed to replenish their supply of raw materials and manpower from these occupied territories to ensure a smoother reconstruction and recovery on Jin Di Star.

But this wasn’t necessarily necessary.

These planets had once been the Ming Yang Cult’s most important sources of raw materials and manpower.

However, during the Green Tide, these areas were also invaded by the Greenskins.

To quickly eliminate the greenskins’ encroachment on their sources of raw materials and manpower, they launched cleanup operations.

Later, when the Alliance and the Fury of Flame Warband engaged in a standoff, the Cult of the Bright Sun showed no interest. They simply held onto their sphere of influence, ignoring outside disturbances and focusing solely on licking their wounds. “Don’t bother trying to get anything done.

I won’t help either side. Whoever provokes me

will be the one to take on them.” That was their general attitude.

Naturally, neither the Fury

of Flame nor the Alliance would provoke them. After the standoff between the Alliance and Fury of Flame ended, the Cult of the Bright Sun still held territory in three sectors. The Alliance had just taken over a large portion of the Dragonhawk Sector and was struggling to digest the fruits, so how could they afford to target the Cult of the Bright Sun?

However, temporarily ignoring them didn’t mean permanently.

The three sectors of Steel Rathalos, Dragon Tamers, and Dragon Pass were all administratively part of the Dragonhawk Sector. Jindi, as a forge world recognized by the Mechanicum, had no affiliation with the sectoral government. However, they were located within the star field, so it was impossible for them to be completely unconnected.

Gu Hang actually had ambitions for Jindi Star.

It wasn’t that Gu Hang intended to risk the wrath of the world by seizing and controlling Jindi Star.

That was neither possible nor necessary.

However, as a legitimate forging world, Jindi Star possessed the strongest production capacity in the entire star field.

The Mingyang Sect wasn’t known for its shipbuilding industry, but the shipbuilding industry the Alliance had developed was comparable to that of Jindi Star.

They had already announced the resumption of construction on the Mechanical Ark; in addition, they had suspended all external orders. The two battlecruiser docks and eight cruiser docks were fully operational, and all ships produced would remain in the new fleet.

The Mingyang Sect hadn’t suffered such heavy damage directly in many, many years.

After this incident, they decided to learn their lesson.

External orders were bullshit; internal strength was paramount!

If the Ming Yang Sect hadn’t sold every battlecruiser it had ever produced, leaving six, seven, or eight more in its fleet, would they have suffered such a disastrous defeat during the Iron Teeth Green Tide?

Absolutely not!

The same applies to other production capacity.

On Jindi Star, the most severely restricted area right now is starship construction.

Other production capacity wasn’t completely cut off from external orders, but it had been significantly reduced. The Ming Yang Cult was determined to significantly strengthen its military until they felt secure. Furthermore, a significant portion of their production capacity had to be invested in rebuilding their own planet, leaving them relatively unsustainable to accept external orders.

But this was exactly where Gu Hang’s headache began.

He had plenty of money. Not only from the Alliance’s fiscal revenue and saved Imperial taxes, but also from war support from the Eastern Universe. With this money, he hoped the Mechanicus could manufacture equipment for the Alliance,

particularly starships.

However, during numerous discussions, the Ming Yang Cult decisively rejected the Alliance’s request to purchase ships.

Even with Wu Jiarong’s mediation, it wouldn’t work.

…

All this information was revealed by Wu Jiarong through repeated communications with the Alliance and Gu Hang.

Her current status and position are truly remarkable.

Back then, when Gu Hang sent her to the Ming Yang Sect for “exchange and study,” she was officially recognized within the sect and became a full-fledged Ruler Bishop.

Logically, this was Wu Jiarong’s ultimate goal when she came to Jindi Star.

After becoming a Ruler Bishop, she should have returned to the Alliance to continue directing the Alliance’s secret research institute and, incidentally, begin planning to establish a small Mechanicus faction within the Alliance.

A Ruler Bishop might barely have the qualifications.

However, no one could have anticipated the sudden outbreak of the Iron Teeth War and its rapid progression.

Isolated from east to west within the star region, Wu Jiarong could no longer return, forcing her to remain with the Ming Yang Sect.

As a Ruler Bishop, she naturally participated in the war,

and her performance was truly remarkable.

Her mastery of unique techniques earned her a significant following during the war and the appreciation of Forging General Chen Haixu, who provided her with significant additional resources.

Leveraging this support, she forged powerful armies and led them in numerous successful battles. As her

achievements and reputation grew, Wu Jiarong soon realized she might even be able to ascend further, quickly ascending from the position of Archbishop to the rank of Sage of the Master’s Devotion.

This title is second only to Grand Sage within the Mechanicus.

The entire Ming Yang sect lacks a true Grand Sage; those who ascend must travel to the Solar System, or even Mars, and receive recognition and assessment from the Mechanicus’ headquarters.

In reality, Sages of the Master’s Devotion also undergo this process. However, the Ming Yang sect has eleven vacancies for Sages of the Master’s Devotion, so if the quota is met, Sages of the Master’s Devotion elected from within the sect can also be recognized.

In the past, an outsider like Wu Jiarong, no matter how great her achievements, would have been unable to even dream of vying for such a scarce position.

But hadn’t many Sages of the Main Work died during the war, leaving many positions vacant? Furthermore, many Bishops qualified to compete for these positions had also perished

. This gave Wu Jiarong hope.

Chen Haixu had repeatedly hinted to Wu Jiarong that if she promised not to return to the Alliance and to remain fully committed to Jindi Star, the position of Sage of the Main Work would be offered to her.

Wu Jiarong had seemingly agreed without hesitation.

She had already made her own judgment, and in front of Chen Haixu, she couldn’t react any differently.

To do so would be unnatural.

In her “homeland,” on Jindi Star, a legitimate forging world, the title of Sage of the Main Work—what a temptation for a member of the Mechanicum!

The status of a Ruler Bishop would be fine. On Jindi Star, Ruler Bishops are plentiful, numbering dozens or even hundreds, making them of limited value. Outside, such as within the Alliance, there are only two or three Ruler Bishops at most, and their status is quite different.

Some Ruler Bishops who no longer wish to be involved in the Forge World will indeed choose to leave.

But being a Sage of the Main Work is different.

Once Wu Jiarong becomes a Sage of the Main Work,

she becomes one of the eleven highest-ranking individuals on Jindi Star, a true ruler. Normally, any hesitation on her

part would appear utterly false. However, she knew full well that she couldn’t simply leave the Alliance. The secrets she knew about Governor Gu were too profound. If she left, he would surely kill her.

It would only take a thought. She had already sold her soul to him.

If she were ever tempted to betray him, Gu Hang could easily erase her soul without any loss: with so many black boxes, if they could train one of her, they could also train another high-ranking member of the Mechanicus.

And even if that weren’t the case, she wasn’t that eager to leave the Alliance.

She’d once been just a low-level technician, easily expelled from the Forge World. What had made her soar in just twenty years? It

was the countless black boxes Governor Gu possessed.

She felt she still had room for improvement.

Everyone assumed the Forge World was the place where progress was fastest, but she knew the fastest progress was definitely in the Alliance’s secret research lab.

Although she’d studied many of the Alliance’s past black boxes, she knew Governor Gu would regularly produce a new one. Furthermore, the technology these new black boxes represented was often constantly improving.

Having been away from the Alliance for so long, she had no idea what new black boxes Governor Gu had acquired, and she was itching to learn more.

So, after outwardly agreeing to Chen Haixu’s request, Wu Jiarong immediately reported the brief information to Gu Hang and found an opportunity to have a telepathic conversation with him.

During the call, she fully expressed her loyalty and sincerely stated that she would follow Gu Hang’s instructions completely.

Gu Hang wasn’t actually worried about Wu Jiarong leaking the secret.

She couldn’t do it.

When he sent her to the Ming Yang Sect, Gu Hang had already processed her soul.

And now, knowing that Wu Jiarong had a chance to advance, Gu Hang rejected the idea of going to pick up Wu Jiarong who had secretly escaped.

He asked Wu Jiarong to accept Chen Haixu’s conditions and become one of the eleven main sages of Jin Dixing.

Since conventional means couldn’t deal with the Ming Yang Sect, why not use some other methods to “steal” Jin Dixing?

(End of this chapter)