"Infiltrated and corrupted by the Holy League?"
Li Yao secretly frowned.
Naturally, he could not agree with the Alliance of the Holy Covenant's approach of treating human beings as Pangu slaves and abandoning their feelings and will.
In the war between the Imperium of True Human Beings and the Alliance of the Holy Covenant, if he had to make a choice, he was more or less on the Imperium's side.
However, just because they failed to suppress the riot of the miners and were 'softhearted', they were considered to have been infiltrated, corrupted, and corrupted by the Holy League and sentenced to death. That was too harsh.
If the Immortal Cultivators who were 'on their own side' were so harsh, it was not hard to imagine the Imperium's attitude toward the 'hominoids'.
Li Yao gnashed his teeth hard, almost exasperated. How could the Immortal Cultivators be such assholes? If he were a 'hominoid' in the darkness and desperation, he would've considered abandoning his feelings and joining the Holy League after witnessing his compatriots being suppressed miserably!
After a sniff, Li Yao continued asking, "You said that you had carried out many transportation missions to transport felons who were hibernating like this one?"
The captain nodded and said, "Yes. Our carrier has been specially modified to be capable of maintaining the functions of a thousand hibernation cabins at the same time. It is too uneconomical to transport regular containers with such a huge cost."
"So, you have been in touch with a lot of criminals."
Li Yao asked casually, "Were they all convicted of riot or even treason because of their riots, resistance, and uprising, just like the criminals this time?"
The captain thought for a moment and nodded hesitantly. "Most of them were. Of course, there were also some individual crimes and criminal cases. The 'Ursa Colossus Transportation Group' is limited in capability. We lack enough experts to escort the more dangerous criminals, and we cannot get a certificate of transportation of a higher level. Therefore, the criminals that can be entrusted to us are mostly group criminals that involve a large number of people but do not have a high combat ability. In the past half year alone, we have carried out three similar missions."
"Oh?"
Li Yao asked, "Are there a lot of large-scale rebellions of hominoids in the Imperium?"
"A few hundred years ago, it was as common as the hairs on a cow. However, in the past hundred years, the Empire has carried out various reforms, so this kind of thing has become much rarer."
"But in recent years, because the Imperium is at war with the Holy League, we are in dire need of resources in all aspects. So, all the people must work together and contribute selflessly.
"Many lazy hominoids lack the spirit of dedication. Because of the indulgence in the past hundred years, they will grow resentful whenever their workload is slightly increased. Also, the spies of the Holy League have infiltrated into the Imperium and instigated the ignorant people to riot with propaganda. The Immortal Cultivators at the bottom level are also corrupted, giving them unnecessary sympathy and mercy. Therefore, more and more strikes and riots are happening."
"Got it. In order to deal with the war against the Holy League, or more precisely, for the greatest counterattack in the past thousand years, the Imperium was in dire need of abundant resources. Therefore, harsh laws were implemented. After the riots of the hominoids were suppressed, they were all sent to various prisons. Even the prisons on the national level were not enough, and 'private prisons' were established to lock up the criminals?"
Li Yao narrowed his bloodstained left eye and stared at the guy coldly. "Is that so?"
"Yes," the captain said.
"The prisons at the national level are useless against these criminals, because the environment in the prison is almost the same as the working surface in the depths of the mine. It can't serve as a deterrent at all. Instead, it consumes a lot of precious resources of the country to feed them, which is a great waste.
"But the private prisons are different.
"There are hundreds and thousands of private prisons, and they have all kinds of operating methods. After sending the criminals here, not only do they not have to waste a single cent of the country's money, the owners of the private prisons will also hand over a large sum of money to the country based on the number of prisoners and their strength. Not only does it reduce the burden on the country, but it can also create a greater deterrent to the criminals. The owners of the private prisons also have ways to squeeze out rich profits.
"Therefore, all kinds of private prisons are popular in the Imperium right now. The private prison under the Heavenly Eye Group is one of the most typical ones. It is a model prison of the national level."
Li Yao took a deep breath and tried to hold back his boiling emotions. He continued asking coldly, "After every criminal is sent to the prison, the Heavenly Eye Group will pay a huge fee. Then, how can the money be earned back?"
"I don't know."
The captain shook his head quickly. "We are only responsible for the transportation of goods. We only stay in 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky' for a day or two every time. We have no chance to go deep into the city, and we don't want to know the inside story. All we want is to make money."
Under the deterrence of Li Yao's soul and the hypnosis of the mental devil, it was naturally impossible for the captain to lie. He really did not know anything.
"Are you dumb?"
The mental devil chuckled. "Those so-called 'criminals' naturally have a lot of value to be exploited. They are all fresh blood that will be sent to the Land of Sins!"
"Huh?"
Li Yao's eyes suddenly glittered. "Are you suggesting —"
"Exactly," the mental devil said. "Didn't we analyze it before? The Land of Sins is plagued by radiation and pollution, and it is a bloody world where the strong prey on the weak. It is barely possible for the children born in the Land of Sins to grow up smoothly. In other words, according to the independent population model, it is a world that is extremely underpopulated and should've collapsed a long time ago.
"The population in the Land of Sins, on the other hand, is mostly replenished by falling from the sky other than natural reproduction.
"Every day, countless people who have lost their memories are projected from the Heavenly Rails and become the new generation of 'sinners' in the Land of Sins. They either struggle, fight, and twist into ferocious experts and animals in the abnormal world, or they die without a sound.
"Where do you think the incessant 'fresh blood' comes from?"
"That explains a lot," Li Yao said. "Most of the 'new blood' that fell from the sky were the ordinary people who launched strikes, demonstrations, and uprisings in the Imperium. After they were suppressed, they were naturally branded as' sinners' and exiled to the Land of Sins as the new generation of 'sinners'. What a great life sentence! What a great reprieve!"
"Don't forget that there are also the 'old grandpas'," the mental devil said.
"The old grandpas are people who are far stronger than the common sinners and arrive with all kinds of advanced techniques and techniques. Naturally, they are not qualified for the job of the common criminals."
"Got it. They are the criminals of the Immortal Cultivators, just like the thirty-six unlucky fellows who committed 'dereliction of duty' earlier."
Li Yao said, "The Imperium is too large, and there are all kinds of internal conflicts among the Immortal Cultivators. Naturally, a lot of criminals are born.
"By performing brain surgeries on the criminals, wiping or corrupting their memory areas, implanting tremendous new information, or modifying them with long-term, high-intensity hypnosis, they become the 'old grandpas' who are responsible for disseminating the new techniques.
"Right. I remember that Gu Zhengyang, Coloured Glaze's father, also said that he vaguely remembered that he was pushed to the operating table and his skull was opened. Somebody even declared him 'guilty', which happened to match what this guy said. Gu Zhengyang, Coloured Glaze's father, used to be an Immortal Cultivator. A criminal Immortal Cultivator!"
At this point, most of the secrets about Manjusaka had been uncovered.
The next step was how to sneak in and destroy it!
Li Yao pondered in silence for ten seconds before he asked the captain again, "Is there a dock near the spaceport of 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky' that is enough for the maintenance of large starships? Your starship has been seriously damaged. If it is not maintained on the spot, it will be impossible for you to perform a space jump, right?"
"Yes," the captain said.
The captain said, "The space fortress of the Heavenly Eye Group is well-equipped. Naturally, it is not short of maintenance docks. We have performed several simple maintenance and tests in this place, too. Other starships that were hit by a cosmic storm were also repaired in this place.
"Therefore," Li Yao said, "in your current situation, you will probably be docked here for a long period of maintenance. How long do you estimate you will stay here?"
The captain was in charge of the damage control team in the first place. He had a rather professional knowledge about the maintenance of starships. Thinking for a moment, he said, "Our engine compartment is almost entirely lost. However fast we are, it will take at least ten days to half a month."
"What will happen to the crew in the meantime?"
Li Yao blinked and asked, "Will they let you off the starship?"
"We have a small activity area near the spaceport, but it is impossible for us to enter the depths of Manjusaka," the captain said dutifully.
"It is a forbidden military area. Someone from the Heavenly Eye Group helped us move all the hibernation cabins in. We have never been inside."
"Alright. I've got it. Thank you for your cooperation."
Li Yao snapped his fingers. The Immortal Cultivator's crimson eyes immediately went blank. He turned around mechanically like a zombie and opened his arms, lunging at the place where the venomous fog and the flames were the most violent.
After a dull explosion, the Immortal Cultivator was blown into charcoal. Before that, his screaming soul had already been ripped apart brutally by the claws of Li Yao's soul and completely obliterated in the fire.
"Let's do it the same way. We'll split into two groups. Neltharion will sneak in and scout the environment first."
Li Yao raised the stealth multipurpose exploration starship in his palm and blew at it softly. The mental devil took the opportunity to crawl in.
Right now, Li Yao's soul was more than ten times stronger than before. The distance that he could control Neltharion in secret was dozens of times longer, too. Even if the remote control between him and Neltharion was cut off, there was still the mental devil, which was a relatively independent existence, that could maintain the stealth reconnaissance of Neltharion when the network was cut off.
For Li Yao's real body, when he was fully equipped with the Crystal Suit and even summoned the Colossus, it made no difference whether he stayed at the periphery of "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky" or at the core.
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