428: Negative impacts of technology

"Dad!" Xiao Xiao dropped the knife she was forging, her eyes instantly reddened, and she threw herself into Tian Ming's embrace.

"Dad is back." Tian Ming stroked his daughter's head, his heart a mix of emotions; he was a little unaccustomed to it, as anyone would be.

For Tian Ming, in just a dozen hours, his daughter had gone from babbling to a grown woman, becoming his contemporary. Anyone would find that awkward.

"Dad, they all said you were dead. Where have you been all these years?" Xiao Xiao asked, her voice choked with tears.

"It's a long story," Tian Ming said, holding his daughter and gazing at the distant starry sky, his heart feeling heavy.

Xiao Xiao released her father, wiped away her tears, and said, "Come back with me. The surface isn't safe. Tian Quan has already rebelled. After you disappeared, we launched a cleanup plan against the zombies. A large number of Ability Users were dispatched to the surface to fight alongside the mechanical legions controlled by Tian Quan, but for some unknown reason, after clearing out the zombies, the Ability Users rebelled. They all became full-element Ability Users."

A hint of surprise appeared in Tian Ming's eyes: "How is that possible?"

Just then, the ground suddenly collapsed, and a giant mechanical sand worm emerged from beneath the earth. Its shell opened, and countless mechanical spiders surged out, rushing towards the mechanical legion that had previously surrounded Tian Ming.

Xiao Xiao frowned and said, "Not good. Tian Quan has detected me. Dad, quickly leave here with me."

As Xiao Xiao finished speaking, she pushed her palm forward, and a teleportation channel instantly formed. But suddenly, a powerful fluctuation struck, and the teleportation channel was directly shattered, disappearing completely.

A hint of surprise flashed in Tian Ming's eyes. He hadn't expected an Ability User could destroy Xiao Xiao's teleportation channel. This sudden energy fluctuation made Xiao Xiao feel a sense of unease.

They turned their heads and saw a figure slowly approaching. The person exuded a powerful aura, seeming to be an extremely formidable Ability User.

"Special Operations Group Executive Lu Xiaoxiao, long time no see." The man, in his early twenties, slowly walked over. His entire body was composed of super-strong nanometal alloy; only his head and heart were human.

Tian Ming's consciousness swept over, and he immediately understood the reason. The mechanical body provided far more energy than the human body consumed, allowing the human brain to have enough energy to amplify consciousness, thereby enhancing abilities. No wonder the Rebel Army were all Ability Users; this method of enhancement was highly attractive to Ability Users.

Xiao Xiao looked at the mechanical youth and said, "Bai Yiming, you've turned yourself into this inhuman, ghost-like appearance. I truly feel sorry for you."

"Sorry? If you had married me back then, I wouldn't have betrayed the Space Administration. Now, I'm stronger than you. You ignored me back then, but now I'll make you unable to reach me."

"Slap!"

Before that brat could finish speaking, Tian Ming instantly appeared in front of Bai Yiming, raised his hand, and slapped the brat. What kind of person tries to court his daughter?

Bai Yiming was slapped and looked at the man in front of him, somewhat bewildered. He was now an evolved full-element controller, with a control range of a terrifying 50 meters. Yet, this guy was able to close in instantly.

Bai Yiming was stunned by Tian Ming's slap. He widened his eyes and roared angrily, "How dare you hit me? Do you know who I am?"

Tian Ming sneered and said, "I don't care who you are. If you dare to speak disrespectfully to my daughter, I'll slap you."

Bai Yiming was struck as if by lightning, muttering, "You, you're Xiao Xiao's father? You, weren't you dead?"

"Dead? Heh heh!"

"Dad, don't kill him. He's Uncle Bai's son," Xiao Xiao quickly said.

Tian Ming frowned slightly: "Is it Bai Yan?"

"Mm, yes!"

Seeing the situation was bad, Bai Yiming wanted to escape. Full-element control required the activation of a large amount of energy. This was reflected in the control radius. He, of course, knew Tian Ming's ability. Before Tian Ming disappeared, his control radius had already reached fifty kilometers. His fifty meters was just asking for death.

"Where are you going, you little brat?" Tian Ming slapped Bai Yiming's shoulder, a playful smile on his face. Bai Yiming tried to use his ability to escape, but found his ability seemed to have failed.

Tian Ming looked at Bai Yiming, a look of disdain on his face as he said, "All flash and no substance. You're a human but chose to be a robot. No wonder my daughter doesn't fancy you."

Xiao Xiao's face flushed, and she said, "Dad, take him back. He's a mid-level leader and a Commander in the Rebel Army."

Tian Ming waved his hand and said, "No rush. Let's turn him back into a human first."

When Bai Yiming heard Tian Ming say this, a hint of terror appeared in his eyes, and he said, "Uncle Lu, no, I only kept my brain and heart. My mechanical body is forcibly bound through genetic encryption. Without Tian Quan's authorization, forcibly removing it will detonate my energy core."

"Energy core? Is it this?" Tian Ming's palm easily passed through Bai Yiming's body, directly pulling out the energy core stack.

At this, Bai Yiming was completely dumbfounded. Tian Ming smiled calmly, squeezed it with his hand, and directly extinguished the energy core. Xiao Xiao, standing by, was also shocked.

"Dad, you're amazing! I, Lu Xiaoxiao, am truly envious of you."

Tian Ming smiled and said nothing. At this moment, Bai Yiming suddenly felt dizzy and his body involuntarily went limp. Tian Ming flicked his hand, and Bai Yiming's mechanical body instantly disappeared, while his genes were also read by Tian Ming.

A large amount of surrounding elements began to be transformed by Tian Ming. Bai Yiming's somatic cells rapidly differentiated, and blood vessels, bones, muscles, and internal organs began to form.

Tian Ming's ability at this moment was that of a Yuanchu God; he was the rule of this universe. As Bai Yiming's body was restructured, Xiao Xiao quickly turned her back.

Tian Ming paused, then with a wave of his hand, he clothed Bai Yiming's bare body.

"Xiao Xiao!"

"Mm!"

"Let's go back to the Space City. Once I understand the situation clearly, I'll deal with Tian Quan's matters." Tian Ming said, closing his eyes. He instantly sensed the location of the Space City, and a teleportation channel formed in an instant.

The father and daughter, along with Bai Yiming, stepped into the teleportation channel, and the next moment, they appeared in a massive spaceport.

Here, hundreds of interstellar warships were docked. Inside the spaceport, various robots were busily moving about, performing maintenance and resupply on the warships.

The spaceport was filled with fully armed mechanical armies, patrolling with various energy weapons.

Looking at everything before him, Tian Ming felt somewhat unfamiliar. Twenty years wasn't a very long time, but now, things had already changed beyond recognition.