531: Chapter 175: Preparing for Ignition 531: Chapter 175: Preparing for Ignition Xiang Shan was comfortably leaning against a charging station.

However, since he hadn’t installed a charging interface or wireless charging device on his lower back, this position served no charging purpose.

Still, the limbs of cybernetically enhanced people don’t tire that easily—they don’t stand on muscle power.

Under normal circumstances, there’s no need to sit down for a rest.

In this era, most “chairs” also double as “charging stations” or “external bases.”

Conversely, apart from civilians with low cybernetic modification rates, influential figures only use charging stations or external bases as chairs.

Xiang Shan had a reactor inside his body, so he wasn’t lacking in electricity.

He sat on a charging station against the wall, back pressing against it, and feet propped up on the console.

If he were still capable of growing nails and had nail clippers at hand, Xiang Shan would surely be clipping his nails right now.

Or maybe cleaning out his ears or something.

Unfortunately, his steel body no longer produced these by-products.

Xiang Shan also took care to maintain his components.

So he casually hacked into the system instead.

This was a level two maintenance site, directly connected to a level one command node.

Xiang Shan didn’t know how many layers separated this node from his target.

But he was clear on one thing: if he traced the signal sources layer by layer, he could definitively find his target.

The Igni Seal exists at a location that can instantly spread signals throughout the city, which is probably the satellite station at the top of every city’s superstructure.

The Igni Seal, a special alarm mechanism.

Hartman had set up a proprietary data link that suited his Inner Strength between the satellite clusters, and the Igni Seal was the final link in those data chains, tied together by unique protocols.

It’s said that the Igni Seal is directly connected to King Aqini’s brain and can trigger Aqini’s instinctive retaliation in the shortest possible time.

In myths, once the Igni Seal was activated, fire would burn wherever the signal reached on the ground.

This is the ultimate defense mechanism of every city in the Earth-Moon system.

This is also why the Hero could not carry out large-scale actions or formally occupy any city.

The disciple of Zhu Xinyu, TX-0, was cautious about triggering it and harming innocents.

After all, with his own Inner Strength, there was no one in Pine Eagle City who could challenge him.

But once detected, he could harm the innocent.

Of course, there are limitations to the Igni Seal.

Its terminal wouldn’t be too far from King Aqini; otherwise the long delay and network congestion would neutralize Aqini’s attack.

Currently, only the Earth-Moon system is equipped with this device.

But you know…

Zero was reluctant to make a move because he feared harming the innocent.

But Secluded Crane City, it doesn’t have any innocents, does it?

So why not explore here!

Based on the memories of the Eighth Martial God, his current Inner Strength was indeed much weaker than King Aqini’s, but there is a 1.28 light-second distance between Earth and the Moon.

The gap between them wasn’t so obvious.

King Aqini couldn’t instantly kill Xiang Shan from 1.28 light-seconds away.

With Inner Strength attacks, as long as you aren’t killed instantly, there’s hope for turning the tables.

Operations like “disconnecting from the network” and “changing the motherboard” can resolve many worries.

As for other attacks…

Heh, unless that Old Dog really dares to level the Secluded Crane Knight Order with a single shot—a Scientific Knight Order that’s rich in papers, technical output, and holds substantial influence.

It’s the same saying, as long as you aren’t killed instantly, there’s a chance to turn things around.

Xiang Shan had a bit of knowledge when it came to “escaping.”

Just as the Protectors use civilian residential areas to restrain Heroes, limiting the means Heroes may choose.

Now, the Secluded Crane Knight Order are the “hostages” in Xiang Shan’s hands.

If there are a few members of the Six Dragons Sect in Secluded Crane City without a “firewall resistant to Igni Seal effects,” that would be perfect.

It’s actually quite plausible.

The official firewall patches resistant to Igni Seal effects are personally created by King Aqini.

But to install the patch also means to “accept an undetectable backdoor.” It might even attract the watchful eye of King Aqini.

If the Six Dragons Sect has many secret operations, it’s perfectly normal for them to refuse the patches made by King Aqini.

And only with the level of the Eighth Martial God would one dare to claim that a self-invented firewall could possibly filter out all attacks from an Igni Seal.

Xiang Shan was genuinely looking forward to the moment when the Igni Seal was triggered and the Six Dragons Sect’s masters within the city suddenly burst into flames.

“Hmm, perhaps I could take on the pseudonym ‘Nero Claudius’ for myself,” Xiang Shan mused, recalling the historical jest.

According to historical records, Rome had a Tyrant named “Nero Claudius” who loved playing with fire.

One of his favorite pastimes was to light Christians’ heads on fire, using them as live candles.

Some even believe he burnt down his capital.

Xiang Shan even thought that if he successfully set Secluded Crane City ablaze, he could use this pseudonym to wander the Jianghu for a while next time.

Always calling oneself “Nameless” might be a bit too easy to guess.

However, as much as he liked to play with fire, there was still work to be done first.

Xiang Shan wanted to deal with the Igni Seal to prepare for the operation in Paradox City and beyond.

Zero had said that Paradox City’s Defending Army might trigger the Igni Seal directly at the most critical moment.

He first had to find a way to copy the code of this thing and then see what it really was.

It was just that the data for this thing was a bit large and time-consuming to handle.

Moreover, it seemed there was always a master expert trying to thwart his actions.

“Oh well.” Xiang Shan casually rotated his head, “It seems there really are non-official Six Dragons Sect members in this city.

Either there are quite a few of them, or they are indeed significant.”

The fact that he was “discovered” was not a surprise.

The Igni Seal was located at the satellite signal station, a military stronghold, inevitably guarded by capable individuals.

And Xiang Shan had not been too cautious.

However, theoretically, everyone in the city was immune to the Igni Seal attack.

Any Hero that triggered the Igni Seal by themselves was basically seeking death.

Under such circumstances, the Houndhawks were still fiercely guarding the Igni Seal.

Now, that’s interesting.

……………………………

White Hermit looked at Guardian Zhi and asked, “Protector, has Iron Heart Dharma King given you any major firewall patches in the past two years?”

Guardian Zhi shook his head.

White Hermit took out an external drive and said, “Install this patch.

If there are compatibility issues, there’s also a compatibility patch inside.

But after installation, remember to disconnect from the network and be careful not to draw that great king’s attention.”

As for uninstalling…

Hehe, this patch is not so easy to remove.