Chapter 1 Somewhere in the Sea of ​​Stars

Somewhere in the Sea of ​​Stars, a large starship sailed slowly through space.

In the exquisitely decorated captain's cabin, Calozzo leaned lazily in his soft, comfortable captain's chair, legs crossed on the desk, one arm dangling casually from the armrest, holding a bottle of expensive, aged liquor, letting it sway with inertia. A thick cigar smoldered in his mouth, with wisps of blue smoke, and in front of him floated a virtual screen playing entertainment programs.

Calozzo had rough, brown skin like that of a lizard, his features similar to a human's, but with a wide distance between his eyes and a protruding jaw, like an orc. In addition, one of his eyes was blind, the dark, empty socket exposed, like a wound left by an energy weapon, adding a fierce air to his appearance.

Although he looked very rough, he was dressed in a meticulously crafted aristocratic suit, seemingly carefully ironed, with few wrinkles. He wore a small, aristocratic round hat that covered his sparse, messy blond hair, with only a few strands falling from the seams, creating a stark contrast.

The population trade mostly relied on the interstellar black market, but it also had an independent ecosystem, forming a secret trade chain. Because this line of work was not suitable to be exposed, population sellers of any scale rarely acted in the name of organizations. They usually gave themselves a code name and made contact with customers in a personal capacity, forming a trade network based on underworld identities.

Calozzo was a reputable big seller on the population black market, nicknamed "Lord". He had been in the business for many years, with excellent performance, and his business even spanned several star clusters. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was a population trade tycoon in the Sea of ​​Stars.

"Glug..."

Calozzo took a sip of wine, the bright red liquid flowing from his lips and sliding down his chin. He ignored the sounds of his subordinates playing around in the outer cabins, puffing out smoke while increasing the volume of the virtual screen, constantly changing channels with gestures, listlessly scanning through one program after another.

Just then, a virtual screen suddenly popped up with an encrypted communication interface, and a number marked "Buyer No. 178" called.

Calozzo's eyes flashed, he paused the program and answered the call.

A shadow without specific features appeared on the screen and recited a series of coded numbers, a secret code. Calozzo also replied with a series of numbers, exchanged passwords, and confirmed that each other's identities were correct.

After the passwords were exchanged, Buyer No. 178 got straight to the point:

"Lord, have you got the goods I ordered last time?"

Calozzo took out a notebook and flipped through it, saying, "Sorry, we haven't got the goods yet."

"How long has it been? It's just a batch of Silver Elves, you weren't this slow before. My master is already getting impatient," Buyer No. 178 said in dissatisfaction.

Calozzo shook his head, "The environment is different now. As you know, due to that war, the entire universe has been under martial law for the past two or three years, and a large number of races have gathered in the Central Star Sea for refuge. Our business has decreased by ninety percent. It's not as easy to get goods as it used to be."

For a long time, the population black market, hidden beneath the deep sea of ​​interstellar society, was very prosperous, but with the outbreak of the World Tree War, this industry fell into a cold winter.

Generally speaking, war should promote population trade, but the war has not yet broken out on the home front. In order to prepare for war, the three major civilizations have implemented high-pressure control over various star regions, and a large number of people have concentrated in refugee areas. The circulation of interstellar citizens has plummeted, which is equivalent to cutting off the supply of many population traffickers.

Most of the people captured by population traffickers are ordinary interstellar citizens, usually lone interstellar travelers, or those who are tricked, abducted, or kidnapped tourists, or they directly buy prisoners from star pirates. They rarely attack passing spaceships at will, and they certainly do not land on civilized colonies to grab people in large numbers. They do not have such armed forces.

Due to the control of the three major civilizations, Calozzo had not "stocked up" for a long time, and now this business was becoming increasingly difficult.

"Although I can't get Silver Elves here, I have some other goods. Do you want to take a look at the list?" Calozzo asked.

"Forget it, forget it, I'll look for another seller."

Buyer No. 178 went offline.

Calozzo curled his lips, not caring.

The deal had fallen through, but he didn't feel any regret.

Because of the war, Calozzo had made up his mind not to purchase any more goods. He only wanted to clear his inventory and retire from the business.

As for whether he could safely retire, Calozzo was not worried.

Population sellers who had been in business for a long time had a set of survival rules. They paid attention to keeping their identities confidential, mostly did business only with regular customers, and maintained good relations with some armed organizations. Even some powerful customers could provide them with convenience, so they could get along well in the underworld... as long as they remained low-key, didn't expose themselves, and didn't provoke big shots, then no one would care about them. They could retire after making a fortune, which was actually very safe.

Calozzo closed the communication interface and continued to change channels, casually swiping through one program after another, but his mind was not on it, immersed in the excitement of looking forward to the future.

"Once this batch of inventory is cleared, I can retire..."

Calozzo felt at ease.

The money he had earned over the years was enough for him to live a carefree life for several lifetimes. As long as he could retire successfully, he could change his identity and enjoy life with his accumulated wealth. There were too many such examples in this industry. It could be said that it was the dream of every population seller, and it was also Calozzo's goal.

At the thought of having worked so hard for so many years and a good life finally beckoning to him, Calozzo couldn't help but feel excited.

But just then, he casually switched to a news channel, which was broadcasting the Black Star's conference.

Calozzo had also been paying attention to the invitation incident some time ago, and couldn't help but stop, as if possessed.

Soon, his eyes widened, and his body trembled uncontrollably. Intense horror gradually filled his face, and a chill ran through his bones, causing him to break out in cold sweat.

Watching countless major forces in the picture respond to Han Xiao's call, Calozzo panicked at that moment. His mind went blank, and he unconsciously remembered a sentence he had once scoffed at...

What goes around, comes around!

Crackling—

Many subordinates who were playing cards and yelling in the cabin suddenly heard the sound of things being smashed frequently from the captain's cabin. Just from the sound, everyone could almost imagine a hysterical scene, as if a trapped beast had fallen into despair.

...

Endless Star Cluster, a certain interstellar free city.

A luxurious mansion was located in a scenic area with pleasant scenery, surrounded by lush trees and a clear lake. In a highly artificial interstellar city, the existence of such a special area indicated that the people living here were very powerful.

In the spacious living room, a man in a bathrobe leaned back on the sofa. Several female creatures of elven descent lay on the ground beside him, their heads lowered, their chins touching the ground, collars around their necks, and leashes tied to a pillar on the side, like captive pets.

In front of them was a huge virtual screen playing a program. The man ate breakfast while looking up at the screen, occasionally stroking the arched back of the elven woman next to him, which was covered in purple bruises, as if simply stroking a pet.

The elven woman flinched subconsciously, but her eyes were as still as a pool of stagnant water, without any fluctuations, looking blankly at the virtual screen in front of her, like a soulless zombie.

Just then, the man in the bathrobe changed the channel and saw a news recording of the Black Star Conference.

After watching for a while, he sneered, his face full of disdain:

"This Black Star, he always has so many things to do all day long. If he's idle, he should go fight foreign enemies, that's his duty. What's with meddling in the population trade? Is it any of his business? Does he really think he's a leader of interstellar society? Bah, what a piece of trash."

As soon as he finished speaking, the elven women lying on the ground trembled violently, and a little light suddenly returned to their dead eyes.

Since being captured by population traffickers and sold as slaves, their lives had only been filled with deep darkness, like stagnant water without any hope, and they thought that their remaining lives would be like this.

But at this moment, Black Star was like a ray of dawn piercing through the darkness, suddenly shooting into their desperate hearts, stinging their numb hearts and awakening their broken personalities.

The women stared blankly at the Black Star on the screen, and hope couldn't help but grow in their hearts.

Will someone really come to save us...?

But at this moment, the man in the bathrobe noticed the eyes of his pets, and his brows furrowed.

"Huh? What are you looking at?"

As he spoke, the man in the bathrobe glanced at the Black Star on the screen again, and suddenly felt a surge of anger. He picked up a barbed short whip from the side and cracked it in the air.

"It seems that I haven't trained you enough. Are you still thinking about escaping? What, after watching a news report, you think that Black Star can save you? Continue, keep staring at him, and see if he can save you now."

The elven women were so frightened that their bodies stiffened. They lay on the ground, trembling, but they didn't dare to dodge, and they didn't dare to beg for mercy—without the man's permission, if these "pets" opened their mouths to speak, it would only lead to more tragic torture.

The man in the bathrobe looked gloomy and raised his whip, ready to strike.

But just then, the door of the mansion exploded!

Boom!!

Shards flew, and dust filled the air.

The man in the bathrobe was startled and hurriedly turned his head to look, only to see a group of people walking in, wearing familiar uniforms. It was the security patrol team of the interstellar city.

After seeing who it was, the man in the bathrobe immediately relaxed, and then became extremely furious, shouting:

"What are you doing?! Trespassing in my house, are you looking for death?!"

The security squad leader came out, showed an electronic arrest warrant, and said coldly, "Your Excellency An Husuo, we have received reliable information that you are keeping interstellar citizens as pets, which has violated the law. Please come with us."

The man in the bathrobe widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief, and pointed at himself in surprise, "You're arresting me for this little thing? Do you know who I am?"

"You have violated the interstellar universal law's prohibition on population trade," the security squad leader said expressionlessly.

"Can you afford the responsibility for arresting me? Go back and ask the lord of your free planet if he doesn't want his planet's business franchise rights?"

The man in the bathrobe found it absurd and laughed.

With his identity and background, this charge was a joke. He had kept so many interstellar species as pets, and no one had ever dared to hold him accountable for this crime.

He didn't expect these low-level security police officers to dare to challenge him. These small characters didn't even have the qualifications to talk to him normally.

"Please cooperate with our enforcement," the security squad leader frowned.

"What's your security police officer number? Do you believe that I'll strip you of your uniform tomorrow?!" The man in the bathrobe was furious and laughed. He stepped forward, grabbed the squad leader's clothes, lowered his head to look at the number on his nameplate, and said angrily, "Okay, you just wait, I'll see who can take me away today!"

Soon, the call connected.

"Oh, isn't this Your Excellency An Husuo? Why do you suddenly have the leisure to look for me?" The figure of the planet lord appeared on the screen, with a polite smile on his face.

The man in the bathrobe immediately vented his anger on the planet lord and sneered, "Okay, your people are getting more and more capable now, they dare to break into my house and arrest me, and even dare to attack me. If you don't give me a satisfactory answer today, your planet's business franchise rights will be revoked!"

"Oh dear, why are you so angry? What's going on?" the planet lord asked in surprise.

"Heh, ask your people."

The man in the bathrobe directly stuffed the communicator into the hands of the security squad leader, took two steps back, and looked on with a look of anticipation.

The security squad leader was not afraid and took the communicator to report the situation just now, and showed the several elven women.

After listening, the planet lord said lightly:

"So that's how it is... What's your name, Security Squad Leader?"

"Bell," the security squad leader replied calmly.

"Is the information reliable?"

"There are witnesses and material evidence."

Hearing this, the planet lord nodded and slowly said:

"Then what are you waiting for? Arrest this guy. If he resists arrest, don't bring him back, just kill him on the spot."

As soon as he finished speaking, the man in the bathrobe was stunned and thought he had heard wrong.

Shouldn't the normal situation be to order these security police officers to retreat, and then fire them to appease his anger? It used to be like this, why is it different today?

"What do you mean?" the man in the bathrobe asked in astonishment.

The planet lord shrugged, "I should have expressed it very clearly, you have violated the law, so naturally you will be arrested."

"...Are you crazy?" the man in the bathrobe widened his eyes, "Have you forgotten who I am?"

"I know you have a great background..." The planet lord suddenly changed the subject, and stopped pretending, his tone sinking, "But so what? Not allowing population trade is the will of His Excellency Black Star, we are working for Black Star, what do you think you are?"

"You..."

The man in the bathrobe was stunned and began to tremble.

It wasn't fear, but an uncontrollable anger.

Since he was born, no one had dared to talk to him like this!

However, before he could get angry and throw a tantrum, Bell suddenly drew his gun and pulled the trigger without saying a word.

Bang!

A laser flashed, and the man in the bathrobe's head exploded, scattering charred flesh and blood everywhere.

The headless corpse seemed to be stunned in place, swaying twice before falling to the ground with a bang. The nerves that hadn't died completely were still causing the body to twitch slightly.

Seeing this, the planet lord showed a strange smile.

If it weren't for his secret instigation, the security team wouldn't have acted so boldly.

"This person has resisted arrest multiple times. My team received an order from above to allow him to be killed on the spot!"

Bell put away his gun with a cold face, glanced at the headless corpse, and a look of contempt flashed in his eyes.

"Tch, scum."

...

Several days had passed since countless forces expressed their positions at the conference held by Black Star, and the chain reaction caused by this conference had begun to manifest.

Almost all the resources of half of interstellar society had been leveraged by Han Xiao. The forces in various star regions followed the consensus of the conference and began to clear population trade within their territories.

The Super-A Grade Association controlled the interstellar black market and directly started from the core, pulling out population trade channels one by one, uprooting them, and achieving great results.

And it wasn't just the forces that participated in the conference, other forces that didn't attend also joined in to share the event.

They weren't all giving Han Xiao face, but they saw so many big forces responding. Some small forces tried to use the opportunity of jointly cracking down on population trade to connect with the local large forces and have a reason to contact them.

The population trade eradication campaign was in full swing throughout the universe. With the cooperation of a large number of forces, batches of slaves were rescued, groups of population traffickers were killed, buyers were arrested one by one, and retired population sellers were also tracked down by intelligence agencies through the black market's contacts to their real identities and rearrested.

Such a grand occasion of cooperation among so many forces was rare. It was like a highly efficient machine. The efficiency every day amazed countless interstellar citizens at Black Star's terrifying appeal.

Naturally, related intelligence also reached the ears of many Calamity Grades in the training camp.

Training camp, dormitory lounge.

The virtual screen was broadcasting the results of population trade strikes in various regions. Jodina stared at the screen, her eyes full of excitement.

"You actually have the same dream as me..."

Jodina clenched her fists, her excitement difficult to contain.

As the son and daughter of the Beast Ancestor, she hated population trade and ending population sales throughout the universe was a dream she had hidden in her heart, never telling anyone.

But she didn't expect that Black Star actually had the same idea as her, like-minded!

The difference was that, for her, this was just a distant dream, but for Black Star, it was an achievable goal.

"Black Star... we are indeed destined partners!"

Jodina breathed heavily, her heart surging. At this moment, she just wanted to give birth to a litter of monkeys for Black Star.

For decades, her admiration for Han Xiao had remained the same, and now it was even stronger.

Rumors had always been saying that Black Star and Dragon Emperor were a couple, but so what, I won't give up!

So what if Dragon Emperor is a Super-A Grade, when I work hard to enter this level, I will be able to compete with you on an equal footing!

Jodina's eyes burned with unparalleled fighting spirit, as dazzling as a stellar explosion.

"Black Star, wait for me! Dragon Emperor doesn't deserve you, I will definitely snatch you from her hands!"