In an instant, several more questions popped up in Chen Ming’s mind.
The number of connectable ships increased? When did that happen? Just now? What does this "connectable ship" below mean?
After taking control of the Refraction Level, Chen Ming waited for the Iron Ore No. to complete its maintenance, then used his consciousness to open the hatch and walked in.
His hands never touched the hull of the Iron Ore No., so he never discovered this situation.
Moreover, after taking control of the Refraction Level, Chen Ming hadn’t thought about switching back to the Iron Ore No. anytime soon.
After all, Gamma AI was still in the Dusk Fleet, and he couldn’t guarantee that without the enforced panel control, Gamma AI would continue to follow his orders.
Hence, Chen Ming never actively touched the Iron Ore No.
But now, since there are two controllable ships, he seems not to need to disengage from the Refraction Level to control a new ship.
And if Chen Ming understood the third line correctly, he seems to be able to directly connect to ships he once controlled.
Otherwise, the Sentinel Level wouldn’t appear above.
As for the earlier pirate Sentinel Level, it should have been dismantled in the last Dusk raid, so it doesn’t show up above.
Chen Ming had this thought flash through his mind, wanting to connect to the Iron Ore No. to see up close if it’s really possible to connect remotely.
But then he suddenly realized that such a prompt didn’t appear when he had no free ship control slots before.
Could it be possible that this remote connection feature is only available when there’s an empty control slot?
So Chen Ming paused his actions slightly and first chose to connect to the Sentinel Level at the Pirate Space Station half a light-year away.
After consuming some spiritual power, Chen Ming clearly felt that the Sentinel Level was under his control.
He immediately opened the Sentinel Level’s camera to observe the surrounding environment.
At this moment, the No. 30 space arm where the Sentinel Level was located was still half missing as before.
The remaining half was filled with high temperatures and high heat, with molten iron everywhere.
The Sentinel Level, due to Chen Ming’s previous plans, was parked in the maintenance yard by him.
Therefore, when the dock was attacked by a Speed Particle Spear, the maintenance yard was fortunately unaffected, and the Sentinel Level was safely preserved.
Chen Ming didn’t rush to control the Sentinel but first moved the real-time feedback from the Sentinel Level to the side and placed his hand on the Iron Ore No.
The prompt appeared once again.
[New ship signal detected, replace mind-control signal connection?]
[Current remaining ship connections: 2/2]
[Replaceable connecting ship: Iron Ore No. (small civilian mining cargo ship)]
The content of this prompt made Chen Ming feel that he should be able to switch his ship control at will. Googlᴇ search NoᴠᴇFɪre.nᴇt
He promptly tried, canceling control over the Sentinel Level and switching to the Iron Ore No.
With some consumption of spiritual power, Chen Ming could clearly feel that he was gradually losing control over the Sentinel Level, and the Iron Ore No. was quickly under his command.
Satisfied with the result, Chen Ming switched control back to the Sentinel Level.
Then, using the communication devices on the Sentinel Level, he contacted Old Wu.
Although the Sentinel was under Chen Ming’s control, transmitting Chen Ming’s voice across half a light-year was still impossible.
So, like the Refraction Level, Chen Ming could only communicate with Old Wu using the ship’s built-in voice system.
When the communication connected, Chen Ming immediately recounted his past experiences with Old Wu, intentionally mentioning the terminal and the boss.
There was a moment of silence from Old Wu’s side, likely deliberating on the credibility of the words spoken by this unfamiliar communication code.
The contents Chen Ming emphasized took effect.
Old Wu, instead of doubting Chen Ming’s identity, nostalgically or perhaps reluctantly said, "Little Mu, I have been looking for you. If you’re still alive, can you come back? After this battle, we have a lot more tasks, it’s really unmanageable."
Chen Ming, hearing this from Old Wu, slightly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I’m outside the Space Station now, can’t return for the time being."
Old Wu seemed to sense something and asked, "You’re not doing what you used to do with your captain, are you?"
Chen Ming glanced at the Dusk Fleet outside through the Refraction Level’s camera, then looked at the small stone nestled in his helmet and said, "More or less, there’s a Dusk Ship that looks pretty good. We’ll need about one or two days to come back."
"Are you sure you’ll come back?"
Chen Ming affirmed, "I’m sure."
The communication channel fell quiet for a moment.
Chen Ming suddenly asked, "By the way, do you guys know about what I did at the dock?"
"What thing? Oh, you mean blowing up the dock and running away, right? We know, but Old Lu deleted the surveillance for you, so no one knows except us. Emergency situations are understandable, there won’t be any problems."
"Just come back soon. The task of clearing the battlefield is really troublesome."
The communication ended.
At the Space Station, Old Wu looked up at the factory manager sitting opposite and said, "The signal source from the maintenance yard should be that Sentinel."
"Little Mu likely modified the Sentinel Level’s control system, then used some special method to remotely connect it and used it to send us messages."