Chapter 1 Shining World, Dawn Star Cluster

Han Xiao's flagship passed through the stargate, instantly traversing the vast, desolate cosmic belt, jumping directly from the Shattered Star Ring to the Shining World.

On the other side of the stargate was also stationed an Imperial fleet.

Han Xiao gazed out the window, his eyes sweeping over the dense starlight scattered in patches.

Unlike the prosperous starfield in his memories, the current Shining World was still extremely desolate and primitive, with few traces of development. The quantum network was silent, lacking the lively scene of the explored universe. At this moment, the only quantum network signal he could connect to was the Empire's military base channel, representing that this new starfield was not yet open to the outside world.

"Di di…"

As soon as they passed through the stargate, the flagship received a communication request from the Imperial military.

After connecting, a three-dimensional projection appeared before everyone, depicting an old Imperial officer, not a stranger.

Hela, who was standing beside him, glanced at the dense array of badges on the man's uniform, and then at the rank insignia on his sleeve, concluding that this fellow was an Imperial General, a definite high-ranking member of the military.

The man's gaze locked onto Han Xiao, and he nodded slightly, not displaying any imposing air. He smiled gently and spoke,

"I am塔尔罗科夫(Ta'er Luokefu), the Commander-in-Chief of the Shining World Development Force, Black Star. Welcome to the Dawn Star Cluster."

"Commander-in-Chief," Han Xiao nodded.

塔尔罗科夫(Ta'er Luokefu) was also an acquaintance. In his previous life, when the players of Version 4.0 were active in the Shining World, 塔尔罗科夫(Ta'er Luokefu) was the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial forces stationed in the Shining World. Back then, many of the Empire's development missions were issued in the form of military documents, all bearing 塔尔罗科夫(Ta'er Luokefu)'s name. He was the Empire's highest authority in the Shining World, and all Imperial missions were issued by him. Naturally, the players were familiar with him.

Now that he was leading a team to explore the Shining World, 塔尔罗科夫(Ta'er Luokefu) was essentially half his superior, liaising with the Empire's many allies and relaying the Empire's orders to them. Han Xiao knew that he would be dealing with this fellow for a long time.

Fortunately, 塔尔罗科夫(Ta'er Luokefu) was a seasoned military big shot, and a moderate at that. He was always steady and easy to get along with, which was why the Empire had sent him to preside over the affairs of the Shining World.

"I won't say anything superfluous. Heber's Realm of War and the Klent Empire arrived in the Shining World the day before yesterday. Bring your troops over as soon as possible. Once you arrive, we will discuss and decide on a plan for on-site exploration."

"Alright."

Han Xiao replied, and 塔尔罗科夫(Ta'er Luokefu) cut off the communication.

Opening the three-dimensional star chart, the current map of the Shining World was displayed before everyone. Only the Dawn Starfield was marked as green, indicating that it had been fully explored and its star chart was relatively complete. More than 90% of the other areas were a hazy gray, lacking detailed information.

The Empire had built bases in the Dawn Star Cluster, the main one being located on the edge of the Dawn Star Cluster, bordering the unexplored region. It was a major transportation hub, named Beacon Star, symbolizing a beacon guiding explorers back home.

The meeting point marked by 塔尔罗科夫(Ta'er Luokefu) was here.

"It will take some time for the entire fleet to pass through the stargate." Aurora tapped a few times on the console, bringing up the countdown to the complete assembly of the army calculated by the AI.

Sivier, Melos, Reynold, Laki, and other high-ranking officers remained in the Shattered Star Ring, presiding over the operation of the legion headquarters. Han Xiao only brought a portion of the legion's senior officers on this trip, such as Hela, Fording, Hadaway, and a group of bodyguards. Most of them were usually in idle positions, but now they were reassigned to the exploration force, responsible for different tasks.

The ढेर(dui) of miscellaneous subjects Aurora had taken came in handy as she became Han Xiao's administrative secretary, handling the various tasks here.

"Phillip, plan a route," Han Xiao said.

"Okay, buzzt."

A glowing line immediately appeared on the star chart, marking the fastest route to Beacon Star.

The Empire knew the importance of transportation, and had deployed large-scale military stargate channels in the Dawn Star Cluster, all marked on the star chart to facilitate frequent jumps, greatly shortening the journey within the star cluster. The convenience of transportation was on par with the Central Star Sea. But this was only a temporary situation during the closed exploration period. Han Xiao knew that once the Shining World was opened to the public, the Empire would reclaim some of the military channels.

Han Xiao thought for a moment and instructed, "Send out a few engineering fleets and have them leave the main force to lay down our legion's quantum communication base stations in the Dawn Star Cluster. Don't hide it from the Empire, just say it's to facilitate communication between us and the Shattered Star Ring headquarters."

The quantum network was spread throughout the explored universe, relying on countless, ubiquitous base stations and network nodes, but the Shining World had not completed its infrastructure and was not yet connected to the quantum network of the explored universe. Currently, it could only be connected through the Empire's nodes and base stations. Han Xiao's move was to lay down the legion's network base stations here, laying down his own eyes and ears. Once the starfield was opened, it would be a natural intelligence channel. Generally speaking, this was a privilege of advanced civilizations.

But now, it was one of the benefits of being an ally of the Empire. The Empire would not stop it—as long as they didn't dismantle the Empire's base stations and replace them with their own, they would turn a blind eye.

One legion warship after another passed through the stargate, and soon all the troops were assembled in the Shining World. They immediately jumped away, heading for Beacon Star.

The Dawn Star Cluster had no outsiders for the time being. The fleet sailed smoothly all the way, spending several days passing through dozens of military stargates connecting various strongholds, traversing the entire Dawn Star Cluster. Beacon Star was now faintly visible.

Outside the porthole, what appeared before everyone's eyes was a planet surrounded by a dense swarm of warships.

This small planet was now home to the Empire's direct exploration team, the Realm of War exploration team, and the Klent Empire exploration team. Adding in the Black Star Legion exploration team, which had arrived late, the number of ships exceeded 100 million!

It was a magnificent sight!

In the minds of many officers, this scene was second only to the grand scene when the legion commander had a duel with Heber.

Among them, the Empire's direct troops were the largest in scale, with an extremely developed civilization and production capacity, accounting for about 70% of the total number of ships.

And not far from the planet, there were several stargate stations at the same time, but they were not activated at this time.

The surface of Beacon Star was covered with machinery and metal, not revealing a single speck of soil. The Empire's exploration team used the Empire's famous fool-proof planetary base expansion pack on Beacon Star, leveling the land with high pressure, increasing the planet's density, and transforming the landform and crust, directly turning this planet into a planetary-level military fortress.

The fleet remained in outer space, and Han Xiao took his bodyguards on a small spacecraft to land at Beacon Star's ground dock.

Chi——

The hatch opened.

Han Xiao stepped onto the metallic dock, his gaze sliding over the dense rows of metal buildings, landing on the most eye-catching building in the distance.

This was a towering tower, thousands of meters high, standing out from the crowd. All the surrounding buildings were like dwarfs at the feet of a giant in front of this towering tower—this was the base headquarters of Beacon Star.

Officers were already waiting at the dock. After saluting, they invited Han Xiao and his party to board a ground vehicle and head to Beacon Star headquarters.

Whoosh, whoosh… The group traveled through the ground base, the wind howling.

Han Xiao observed that the ground buildings were mainly hangars and material warehouses. Countless vehicles and mechanical assistants were like industrious ants, transporting cart after cart of materials.

"Beacon Star is the logistics base for the exploration force. A large number of supplies are stored here."

The accompanying officer saw everyone looking around and explained.

Han Xiao nodded. The three star clusters for the first phase of development were Lenore, Goru, and Coronet, all adjacent to the Dawn Star Cluster. Beacon Star was located at a major transportation hub and was the best transfer station.

The ground journey was short, and the group soon entered Beacon Star headquarters, taking an anti-gravity elevator to the central floor of the headquarters, about 1,400 meters above the ground.

Following the instructions, they entered a huge strategic conference room. There were already many people in the room. Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Heber, whose size was like a small mountain, most conspicuous.

Heber also turned his head and looked over. His eyes met Han Xiao's, but there was no joy or sorrow. He sat in his seat and nodded casually as if to say hello.

Behind him were all eight vanguard officers from the Realm of War, all casting unfriendly glances at Han Xiao.

Especially the Chief Vanguard Officer, Frothers, seemed to want to pierce Han Xiao's body with his gaze like a knife, his eyes burning with anger.

Enemies were extremely jealous when they met. Although the Black Star Legion and the Realm of War had reached a truce agreement, promising not to interfere with each other during the exploration, the Realm of War's officers' hostility towards Han Xiao would not be reduced in the slightest.

"Humph."

Seeing this, Hela's expression darkened. She took a step forward, and the bodyguards behind her also took a step forward, glaring at Heber's vanguard officers.

Han Xiao's bodyguards and Heber's vanguard officers confronted each other, their gazes like lasers, as if sparks were about to collide in mid-air.

Hela's and Frothers' gazes intertwined, and an invisible hostility rose, making the atmosphere tense.

Once, when Han Xiao attended the Overlord Gathering for the second time, Frothers had challenged Han Xiao's subordinates. Hela, as the bodyguard captain, accepted the challenge, but Heber appeared and reprimanded Frothers, preventing the two from fighting.

Meeting again at this time, both of them had this incident in their minds.

One was the Chief Vanguard Officer of the Realm of War, and the other was the Bodyguard Captain of the Black Star Legion. Regardless of their identity, status, or strength, they were naturally opposed to each other. Whoever won would have the significance of overwhelming the other's camp. The two of them had cold expressions, secretly listing each other as enemies they must fight.

Now that Aurora had sufficient security, Hela was working for Han Xiao not only to repay him, but also to become stronger. Because of her experience of being controlled by others, she had a fanatical pursuit of power. Although she did not go to extremes like in her previous life, she did not give up the opportunity to challenge the strong.

Han Xiao didn't care and waved his hand, telling the bodyguards to retreat.

It was impossible to fight under the eyes of the Empire, so there was no need to stare at the other side. Even if their eyes were sore, they wouldn't be able to stare the other person to death.

Seeing that the two sides had calmed down, Han Xiao smiled at Heber,

"You came very early."

"I don't like to be late like you do."

Heber replied indifferently.

He regarded Han Xiao as an equal, but he did not intend to reconcile deeply and become friends, deciding to go their separate ways.

The two sides had deep grudges, and only became reluctant allies due to the Empire's intervention. Although they were at peace at this time, they were still competitors in exploring the Shining World.

Since they were business rivals, Heber didn't want to adopt too friendly an attitude. His previous initiative to make peace with the Black Star Legion had already caused his prestige within the Realm of War to decline. At this time, he wanted to avoid people thinking that he was really afraid of Black Star.

Han Xiao laughed. He understood Heber's thoughts like the back of his hand and didn't bother to argue.

—Little Overlord has been having a hard time lately, no need to rub salt in the wound.

Ignoring Heber, Han Xiao turned to look at 塔尔罗科夫(Ta'er Luokefu) standing next to the strategic analysis board and smiled, "Commander-in-Chief, finally we meet."

"Black Star, Sui may have said this, but I still have to say it again. On behalf of the Empire, I welcome your participation."

When Han Xiao and Heber were arguing just now, 塔尔罗科夫(Ta'er Luokefu) watched with interest from the sidelines, not saying a word. Now, seeing Han Xiao speak, he responded with a polite remark.

"It seems that we will be colleagues for a long time in the future." Han Xiao reached out and shook hands with 塔尔罗科夫(Ta'er Luokefu).

"Please sit down." 塔尔罗科夫(Ta'er Luokefu) smiled and gestured towards the seat with his palm.

Han Xiao nodded and sat down with his men, sitting on one side of the room separately from Heber's men, with the men of the Klent Empire in the middle, like a Chu River Han border.

The leader of the Klent Empire was a stranger, who looked like a high-ranking person. He didn't have a good expression on his face towards Han Xiao and didn't even bother to say hello.

Compared with the Klent, Heber's grudges were nothing at all. The Klent's ten-year plan was completely overturned, and the ten-year secret war was ended by Han Xiao's hand. The invested resources did not bring back any benefits…

Their underwear had exploded from the losses!

Hate the Aquamarine Civilization? They almost won lying down and did nothing.

Hate the Crimson Empire? It's not like I dare!

Hate the Realm of War?

…Are you awake?!

So, the hatred could only be thrown at Han Xiao's head.

If the Realm of War's degree of hostility towards Han Xiao was two stars, then the Klent was at least ten stars, hating him to the bone, wishing they could eat him like ribs.

"Now that everyone is here, let's begin."

塔尔罗科夫(Ta'er Luokefu) turned a blind eye to the discord between the three parties, opened the strategic analysis board behind him, called up the unexplored star charts of the three star clusters, Lenore, Goru, and Coronet, and patted the table.

"These three star clusters are the targets for the first phase of development. The Realm of War and the Klent will explore Lenore, the Empire's direct troops will explore Coronet, and the Black Star Legion will explore Goru. These are the targets you chose long ago. Now I will talk about the specific precautions… The exploration task is very cumbersome, and in the final analysis, it can be divided into several key points."

塔尔罗科夫(Ta'er Luokefu) held out a few fingers and said slowly,

"Mapping star charts and deploying large-scale regional observation buoys, laying transportation networks, building transfer stations and strongholds, improving detailed information on each planet… and collecting resources."

Han Xiao nodded upon hearing this. These were the main goals, but there was too much work to be done in practice. They had to explore and build at the same time. The scope was terribly large. Bringing so many people here was to divide the troops into multiple groups to speed up efficiency.

At this time, 塔尔罗科夫(Ta'er Luokefu) added, "The Empire has the most manpower. To ensure progress, we will assign some troops to follow the three of you and provide assistance."

Han Xiao couldn't help but be moved. The Empire's troops accounted for 70% of the total, so it was normal to distribute some people to them, but providing manpower was only one of the reasons. There was also the meaning of monitoring.

The Empire was willing to allow the allied forces of the Empire to explore and share the benefits, but it was not completely letting go. Sending supervisors was to prevent the allied forces from concealing or misreporting the resources they discovered, and to prevent secretly monopolizing them, to ensure the authenticity and correctness of the exploration results.

"The Empire has invested a lot of costs, so it is natural to take the bulk of the resources in the new starfield…" Han Xiao muttered to himself.

However, there was still a lot of room to maneuver in how much additional benefits the explorers could get…

Others didn't know what was on the unexplored planets and could only explore them one by one, relying entirely on luck.

Han Xiao didn't know the situation of most planets either. Although he was a veteran player in his previous life, he wasn't so perverted as to remember the information of every planet… However, he was very clear about some of the very famous and unique planets in the Shining World.

This meant that he didn't need to explore, he already knew which planets were fat with resources.

"Hmm…"

Han Xiao rubbed his chin, lost in thought.