Chapter 1 Hope and Fear

Hope and disillusionment, along with fear and panic, are often accompanied by anger. Urnos's concession detonated public opinion.

Everyone had been expecting the three great civilizations to send someone to extinguish the arrogance of Black Star, but the reality shattered everyone's fantasies. No one could subdue Black Star. Many interstellar citizens were both afraid and angry, and turned into angry rage.

Fine, you're individually powerful, beyond the reach of the three great civilizations, but we still have fleets, regular group armies! We don't believe we can't deal with you!

Unable to match him individually, a large number of interstellar citizens immediately switched to believing in the collective power of the three great civilizations, found new reasons to convince themselves, and found a new source of confidence.

Today was the last day of the ultimatum, and public opinion had completely turned to bias and extremism, supporting the three great civilizations in clearing out the Association, stirring up intense emotions, and creating a scene of rampant madness.

"The Super-A Grade Association is just a non-governmental organization, daring to confront the three great civilizations. Isn't that the behavior of a wanted criminal? Think about it, if the government wants to control you and you don't obey, isn't that a violation of the law? Oh, you can just break the law by creating a non-governmental organization? On what basis? Isn't it just that they rely on their power to do whatever they want!"

"To be fair, Super-A Grades have always been unstable factors, enjoying privileges and disregarding interstellar common law. In my opinion, either bring them all under civilization supervision, or kill them all, lest they become too powerful to control and harm interstellar society. Today is the bitter fruit!"

"Hey, Super-A Grades are just representatives of the superpower community. All superpowers should be controlled so that order can be guaranteed. How many security incidents are related to superpowers? Without them, security will improve!"

Ever since the Sanctuary Revival appeared, the three great civilizations had been guiding public opinion, provoking anger, and deliberately stirring up the opposition between ordinary people and superpowers for more than a year. Like a spring, it was compressed tighter and tighter. Now, at this turning point, the accumulated dissatisfaction of a large number of people towards the super-powered class finally erupted.

Countless interstellar citizens vented their agitated emotions, making fierce remarks, wishing that all Super-A Grades and super-powered individuals would die.

Although extremely biased, it was indeed a true reflection of some interstellar citizens' inner feelings—innate genes destined them to be ordinary people, which was even more despairing than the gap between rich and poor. Almost everyone harbored more or less resentment and unwillingness towards the unfairness of fate. If given the opportunity, a considerable number of people would not mind revealing their "anti-superpower" side.

However, the raging flames of public opinion on the quantum network were of no help to the current situation and could not affect Han Xiao's actions.

Han Xiao sat upright in the central area of the battlefield, scanning the joint fleet of the three great civilizations. After Urnos conceded, the other direct lineages seemed to have fallen silent together. On this last day of the ultimatum, they did not futilely attack again.

"Looks like they finally got a clue."

Han Xiao exhaled a breath.

This show of strength was still quite successful. After years of low-key development, he amazed the world once again, letting everyone see his crushing combat power honed over many years. It not only gave the Association members confidence, but also struck a blow to the enemy's morale, and also earned a reward.

At this moment, the communicator inside his mecha rang, connecting to Manison's channel.

"...Your progress always exceeds my expectations."

Manison was in a complicated mood. He was also shocked by Han Xiao's results and couldn't help but feel envious.

"It's alright, just the level of an average person." Han Xiao humbly said.

Well, the familiar shamelessness.

Manison was speechless for a long time, adjusted his mood, and curiously said, "Your Mechanical Deity is a bit different. Is it a new type of technology? It seems to have traces of the Arcane Corps."

"That's right, I borrowed some of the Arcane Corps' principles." Han Xiao nodded in acknowledgment.

Manison was silent.

Ah, another one of his secret technologies was stolen by Black Star...

His heart ached!

He wanted to get angry, but despairingly found that he was already used to the feeling of being stolen from...

Taking a deep breath, Manison stabilized his mentality and said in a low voice: "What are the principles of this technology? Can you tell me about it?"

"I could, but you wouldn't be able to learn it..." Han Xiao shrugged. "This technology is tailor-made for me. The prerequisite is to have extremely strong physical recovery ability. You're too fragile."

"..."

Isn't it normal for a mechanic's body to be a bit fragile? Only you are a freak and different, qualified to openly ridicule us.

Manison raised his hand and pressed his heart, paused for a moment, not wanting to talk about this depressing topic anymore.

He changed the subject, his tone becoming serious, and said in a deep voice:

"Today is the last day of the ultimatum. I've already prepared for war. How about your side?"

Han Xiao nodded. "The Association's manpower has been arranged in strategic locations in various star systems. If nothing goes wrong, some people have already started taking action."

"War is a shortcut to peace. After today, we and the three great civilizations will rely on our own abilities. I hope the era will continue to extend in our hands," Manison sighed.

Han Xiao curled his lips, noncommittal.

After saying a few words of emotion, Manison was about to close the communication, but suddenly paused, remembering something.

"That... my halberd was broken by you. The other universe treasures I lent you weren't broken, but you took them all away. When are you going to return them to me?"

"Hey, hey, are you being too polite? Who are we? Would I swallow your universe treasures? What kind of person do you take me for?" Han Xiao immediately looked indignant.

Manison immediately sneered.

You don't do anything that involves being human at all, and you still have the nerve to ask me what kind of person I take you for?

You're not even human!

"Just tell me directly when you'll return them."

"Wait until I... cough, wait until I repel the fleets of the three great civilizations, then I'll take some time to return them to you."

Hey, you were clearly going to say wait until you've finished researching them before returning them to me!

Manison glanced at Han Xiao, snorted, and directly closed the communication.

He had long been worn down by Han Xiao and had no temper left. Besides, they had known each other for so many years and knew each other inside and out. When he lent them out, he had already made such psychological preparations, so he wasn't surprised at all.

Truly worthy of you, Black Star!

Han Xiao closed the communication interface. Seeing that the three great civilizations were not moving, he simply opened the panel and looked at the mission rewards.

The wheel battle triggered by the direct lineages of the three great civilizations was not a single challenge mission, but a mission format similar to the sparring sessions with Joey and other hermits. The length of support time determined the reward level, and the highest reward was seven character cards and five random ability extraction opportunities, with the ability to designate the participants as the extraction targets.

The duel with Urnos triggered a regular Super-A Grade challenge mission, and the reward was also a character card and a random extraction opportunity.

"Hey, it seems that I still managed to steal a win in the end. It wasn't a wasted trip."

Han Xiao felt much better in his heart and was comforted.

With a great battle imminent, he was a little itchy, but after thinking about it, he still resisted the impulse to extract immediately.

The goal of establishing prestige had already been achieved. If a war broke out tomorrow, with the joint fleet of the three great civilizations launching a large-scale attack, the direct lineages would probably all take action. Han Xiao would certainly not continue to fight alone at that time. Calling for reinforcements was also a good tradition of the Association, and it should naturally be carried forward. He had never been afraid of having more people than anyone else, so there was no rush to settle the rewards.

"It's a pity, if only the three great civilizations could be persuaded to back down..."

Han Xiao shook his head, thought of a previous idea, and couldn't help but stroke the communicator, feeling a little hesitant about whether to call the leaders of the three great civilizations, reveal the news of the World Tree civilization, and shift the internal conflict.

The most ideal state, of course, would be for the three great civilizations to believe this, temporarily put aside their hostility, and join hands to deal with foreign enemies. Although it would cause the World Tree War to arrive early, it would preserve many living forces and not consume them in advance... However, given the current tense situation and the current relationship between the two sides, he felt that the probability of the leaders of the three great civilizations believing it was very low. They would probably treat it as a fabricated excuse to admit defeat, or a step down.

If he failed to persuade the leaders of the three great civilizations, the two sides would still have to start a war. At the same time, the three great civilizations might secretly study whether the World Tree intelligence was true. In that case, the already explored universe would not only lose a wave of military power, but the World Tree War might also arrive faster, causing the three great civilizations to have no time to recover. So Han Xiao was hesitating, it was difficult for him to confirm the butterfly effect of this action.

"Ah, this is tough."

...

In the Super-A Grade Association's online chat room, a group of Super-A Grades were discussing remotely, many with looks of astonishment still on their faces.

"Even Urnos can't deal with Black Star... He hasn't taken action in decades, his strength has actually reached this level."

"Black Star is truly an incredible guy. I thought he was going to suffer this time, but I didn't expect him to withstand it."

"Fighting the three great civilizations alone, suppressing all the direct lineages. If I hadn't witnessed it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it was true!"

Many Super-A Grades were talking excitedly.

They watched the entire broadcast of Black Star fighting the direct lineages of the three great civilizations, and were more and more shocked every day. After Urnos conceded, the entire circle was shaken.

Even Urnos, the acknowledged strongest cheat, couldn't defeat Han Xiao. This amazed the entire Super-A Grade circle. In everyone's eyes, the crown finally no longer belonged to Urnos and was transferred to Black Star's head... Not only the president of the Super-A Grade Association, but also the undisputed number one Super-A Grade, making the position of president even more justified.

"With Black Star having such strength, I'm relieved," Cthulhu relaxed.

Many people nodded and smiled.

The three great civilizations had many trump cards, and many Association members were worried that Black Star might encounter an accident, resulting in no one being able to use the Sanctuary Revival, in which case they would be in trouble. Now that they saw Black Star was unexpectedly strong, many people breathed a sigh of relief.

Cthulhu looked around, put away his smile, and said in a deep voice: "Alright, don't relax too much. Today is the last day of the ultimatum. Everyone, be prepared, stand by at any time, and wait for Black Star to teleport us over to participate in the war!"

Hearing this, everyone restrained their smiles and became serious.

Hunter of the Sky cocked a rifle and snorted:

"Finally, I can stretch my muscles. My cannon is already hungry and thirsty!"

...

In the joint conference room of the three great civilizations, Mablus, Louis, and the leader of the Arcane Church looked at the remote monitoring screen with livid faces.

"This is outrageous! All the direct lineages were sent out, so many people couldn't defeat a single Black Star, how are we going to deal with the other Super-A Grades!"

Mablus heavily knocked on the table, his tone filled with strong dissatisfaction.

"Their defeat is a disgrace to civilization! It made us the stepping stone, completing Black Star's reputation!" Louis was furious, almost suspecting that these direct lineages were all useless.

"We can't blame them, Black Star is a bit too unbelievably strong."

The leader of the Arcane Church frowned tightly. He was very dissatisfied with Urnos's concession, but what was said was said, and the impact had already been made. It was useless for him to criticize Urnos again, and he even regretted forcing Urnos to leave the Pantheon to intervene in this matter.

Looking at Black Star swaggering and sitting in front of the two armies in the picture, the three suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness, both angry and helpless.

In terms of individual power, they really couldn't suppress Black Star. The three were also a bit at their wits' end, after all, if they couldn't defeat the high-end combat power, they just couldn't defeat it.

"To deal with him, we can only rely on the group army to cooperate with various war weapons..." Louis looked serious, turned his head to look at the two, "Once the ultimatum arrives, we'll start the war, are you all sure?"

"This day will come sooner or later. I only regret that the determination to clear them out came too late. We let the Super-A Grades develop for so long and evolve into a huge threat," the leader of the Arcane Church said slowly.

"We've reached this point, and the final ultimatum has been called out, it's impossible to regret it casually," Mablus nodded.

"Alright, then order the group armies in various places to act according to the battle plan, you..."

Before he could finish speaking, the sound of an emergency communicator suddenly rang in the room.

Louis stopped and looked at Mablus, the ringing coming from the direction of the Emperor of the Empire.

Mablus took out the communicator and glanced at it, displaying an emergency report automatically sent by the Empire's main intelligence, "Valhalla".

The reports from various departments were reviewed by the main intelligence, and assigned to different positions according to the severity and urgency. Disturbing him while he and the other two leaders were meeting proved that in the main intelligence's judgment, the urgency of this news was very high.

"What is this report... hmm?"

Mablus only read the beginning, and his face suddenly changed. He silently finished reading the entire report.

He pondered for more than ten seconds before turning his head to look at the other two who were curious.

"You might need to take a look at this..."

...

The territory of the Mechanic Race.

On the last day of the ultimatum, time passed second by second in anxious waiting. The soldiers confronting each other and the countless interstellar citizens watching the broadcast all felt like they were living a year in every second.

The clock gradually pointed to the time of the final ultimatum, like an increasingly close war signal. The fleets of the three great civilizations and the Super-A Grade Association all experienced slight disturbances. The atmosphere was like a taut string, and the smell of gunpowder became stronger and stronger.

In the fleet of the Black Star Army, a large number of legion players were eager to try.

"Here it comes, here it comes, the battle is about to start!"

"I've seen enough of the cutscenes, the main storyline is finally about to begin."

"Ah, for the legion!"

Many legion players rubbed their hands, wishing that the two sides would start fighting immediately.

On the one hand, they were eager to see the world in chaos and hoped to participate in the world's main storyline. On the other hand, many people also saw the trend of public opinion on the Internet and found that so many people were accusing, criticizing, and scolding them, these "Undying".

As the object of the scolding, the sense of immersion was always quite strong, and many players were quite angry.

But at the same time, some players also had a deeper understanding of the mission name "Superpower Disaster", and a deeper understanding of the conflict between ordinary people and the superpower class.

As a member of the super-powered, the sense of participation in the torrent of the times arose spontaneously, making some plot-oriented players quite delighted, feeling that they were witnessing the opening of a great era with their own eyes, and the dramatic changes in the world were right in front of them.

"All crew members, prepare for battle!"

The commander's voice spread throughout the warships, and countless soldiers tightened their bodies and looked at the timer.

Silence spread, and in the tense wait, time passed second by second, getting closer and closer to the final ultimatum deadline. The hearts of both sides' soldiers and countless interstellar citizens were all in their throats.

Just as the war was about to break out, the joint fleet of the three great civilizations suddenly moved.

The rear teams of the three great civilizations became the front teams, and the joint fleet retreated in an orderly manner, moving away from the confrontation area in batches, beginning a large-scale retreat without warning.

This scene immediately stunned the troops of the Super-A Grade Association and all the interstellar citizens watching the broadcast, and they were a little confused.

The final ultimatum was about to arrive, why did the three great civilizations suddenly retreat, and without saying anything?

Weren't they very tough before, saying that they would never back down and must start the war, why did they take the initiative to break their word now?!

Did they come fiercely and leave without saying a word?

On the quantum network, all the remarks supporting the three great civilizations' clearance of the Association instantly went silent, and they were stunned to find that things were not developing as they had imagined. They felt like the backer who had been speaking out for them suddenly didn't want to cover them anymore.

Could it be that Black Star defeated all the direct lineage Super-A Grades, making the three great civilizations afraid?

Many people couldn't help but think in this direction.

At the same time, a similar guess floated in the minds of many people:

"Could it be that the three great civilizations originally just intended to scare the Association, putting pressure on them to force the Association to compromise, but found that this trick couldn't scare the Association and that the other party was more tough than them, so the three great civilizations chickened out, couldn't keep up the facade, and retreated in dismay, running away on the last day of the ultimatum?!"

This...

Many interstellar citizens didn't know what to say, and their mood was very complicated.

We all support you in starting the war, clearing out the Super-A Grade Association, and solving the unstable roots of interstellar society, but you yourselves chickened out? Are you worthy of our support!

Although the anticipated war did not break out, which was a fortunate thing, many people felt that their faces were a bit embarrassed. Recalling the cheering support they had shown before, they now felt like they had been slapped in the face by the three great civilizations.

On the other side, Han Xiao was also confused as he watched the orderly retreat of the three great civilizations.

After hesitating for a moment, Han Xiao took the initiative to call the Emperor of the Empire, but the other side did not answer, which made him even more strange.

"Did they just chicken out like this? That's not their style, the three great civilizations aren't that cowardly... What happened?"

...

Time returned to a few days ago.

Central Star Sea, Empire Academy of Sciences.

The members of the wormhole detection team were all gathered in the activity room, looking at the virtual screen with worried faces, which was broadcasting the picture of Black Star and Clotti fighting fiercely.

These days, they had stopped all the projects at hand and were all concerned about the next development of the interstellar situation, which was closely related to their lives.

"It seems like there's going to be a war..."

Among the crowd, someone said in a low voice, and the room was immediately filled with sighs, full of worry.

All the researchers present were anti-war, on the one hand, they were worried that the wormhole detection project would be called off again after the war, with no prospect of development, and on the other hand, it was out of the conscience of normal people, and they instinctively opposed war.

"If only someone could stop this war..."

Someone muttered in a low voice.

Hearing this, the project director's eyes suddenly flashed, bit his teeth, turned his head and walked out of the activity room, back to his office.

He searched in the database for a while and pulled out a special wormhole detection report, because he had been paying attention to the development of the situation recently, he had not had time to report it.

"Hopefully it can play some role..."

The project director swallowed and tampered with the report, changing "suspected existence of unknown advanced civilization" in the detection conclusion to "confirmed existence of unknown universe-level civilization".

After doing all this, the project director did not send it to the audit department, but directly uploaded the report to the Empire's main intelligence database, violating the operating rules, which was definitely going to cause trouble.

"I don't know if it will work..."

The project director frowned and muttered to himself.

In order to prevent the possible outbreak of a cosmic war, he was willing to do his best within his power.

He wasn't sure if this trick would work, but he felt that if everyone stood by, nothing would change.