Chapter 1 Free Competition Zone, Emerald Star Cluster, Rosendell Star

This was a resource planet located in the inner ring region of the star cluster. It had long been occupied by a star cluster-level civilization called "Thunder Horn," transformed into a temporary base for the exploration army, heavily defended, and stockpiled with a large amount of supplies and troops.

At this moment, the leadership of the Thunder Horn civilization's exploration army was gathered in the headquarters fortress conference room.

"Two stronghold planets located in the middle ring area have been subjected to successive invasions and breached by different organizations hired by the Super Star Cluster Alliance. What are your thoughts?"

The commander-in-chief pressed his hands on the conference table, his sharp gaze sweeping across the high-ranking officials present.

Bang!

A high-ranking commander with steel-needle-like whiskers pounded the table, angrily saying, "Is there even a need for discussion? Immediately organize manpower to launch a punitive expedition! My troops were guarding one of the strongholds and have already been wiped out. We must retaliate!"

Another calm and lanky officer stroked the lightning-shaped blue horns on his head (a gesture similar to a cosmic human stroking his beard), and slowly said, "I think we should wait for the time being. First, the Super Star Cluster Alliance's actions are premeditated and have strategic intent. Even if we take it back, we will be attacked again. Second, the middle ring area is currently in chaos due to the Super Star Cluster Alliance's offensive, and is being transformed into a self-retained territory by the Super Star Cluster Alliance, which is too dangerous and not suitable for rash actions."

Currently, the fourth phase of exploration had been completed, and the four star clusters in the free competition zone each had a unified regional division. A star cluster had dozens or hundreds of star systems, which, according to their location, were divided from the outside to the inside into the outer edge area, inner ring area, middle ring area, and core area, for a total of four layers.

At present, the main strategic goal of the Super Star Cluster Alliance was to completely control the core and middle ring areas, possess a stable rear base, and then use stargate channels and other spatial teleportation methods to maintain supply transportation lines.

Although this would lead to being heavily surrounded, the Super Star Cluster Alliance had no other choice. Seizing territory was the main goal, and guerrilla warfare was not suitable for them, as they would be besieged no matter which area they occupied.

"Then what do you say we should do? Are we supposed to obediently hand over the stronghold and let my people die for nothing?!" the fiery officer with steel-needle whiskers rebuked.

"Commander-in-chief?" The calm, lanky officer turned his head. "I should think the same as you."

Hearing this, the commander-in-chief slowly nodded and said, "I also agree to wait. The situation is still unclear."

"They're already fighting. What's unclear?!" the fiery officer shouted.

The commander-in-chief patiently said:

"We are not the protagonists in this storm. The three major civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance are the protagonists and the chess players. Although the fourth phase is called the free competition zone, we, the forces that come to pan for gold and seize territory, are just chess pieces that have actively entered the chessboard and cannot determine the overall situation by far, so we have to wait now, wait for the three major civilizations to react."

"So we have to rely on the three major civilizations to take action for us, the forces that have suffered, and start a war with the Super Star Cluster Alliance?"

"Of course not. The three major civilizations will not easily enter the arena themselves. After all, the principle of the free competition zone has not yet reached the point of tearing up. The Super Star Cluster Alliance has recruited so many proxy forces, on the one hand, to strengthen itself, and on the other hand, to imply the rules of the game. Everyone uses proxies to compete... And when their two armies start fighting formally, the situation will enter another more intense level. Now is not the time."

The calm, lanky officer nodded. "That's right, so we chess pieces are now waiting for the marshal's orders. When the three major civilizations react, it will be time for us to choose a side. At that time, we will no longer be fighting alone, and will immediately have a large number of teammates."

The high-ranking officials of the Thunder Horn civilization's exploration army present all nodded.

Although they were unwilling to act as chess pieces, choosing to enter the free competition zone was equivalent to actively entering the game. This was the game rule formulated by the three major civilizations. If you don't like it, don't play it. No one forced you to. Of course, there were many benefits. Only those who were willing to be chess pieces could obtain the benefits of the Shattered Galaxy, and how much they could get still depended on their abilities.

Didi di!

At this moment, a virtual screen popped up from the center of the conference table. On it was an announcement issued by the three major civilizations to the entire universe, and a bright title jumped into everyone's eyes:

"Supplementary Regulations to the Anti-Monopoly Program for the Fourth Phase of Shattered Galaxy Exploration"!

"Here it comes!"

The commander-in-chief's eyes flashed, and he and the others read the announcement, all revealing an "as expected" expression.

The content of this announcement could be roughly summarized into several points. First, the events of the previous night were defined as the beginning of malicious competition and malicious monopoly, believing that the Super Star Cluster Alliance violated the "Free Exploration Regulations." Second, the Super Star Cluster Alliance was ordered to immediately stop its malicious expansion behavior, representing the strong condemnation of various civilizations in the universe. Third, if the Super Star Cluster Alliance did not repent and insisted on going its own way, they would begin sanctions and redistribute the territories occupied by the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

In the appendix to the announcement, there was a plan to implement sanctions and redistribute territories. The Crimson Empire, in conjunction with the other two major civilizations, stated that it was unwilling to personally destroy the "Free Exploration Regulations," so it encouraged all forces in the free competition zone to launch a siege against the Super Star Cluster Alliance, and would provide special support based on their merits.

At the same time, in the territory distribution plan, it stated that it would not take back the planets that various forces had snatched back from the Super Star Cluster Alliance, and as for those who helped the Super Star Cluster Alliance, the territory would be recovered on a discretionary basis afterwards... In short, it was using incentives and other means to draw a blank check to demand that various forces attack the Super Star Cluster Alliance en masse, and to increase the difficulty for the Super Star Cluster Alliance to win over proxy forces.

Either choose the three major civilizations, or choose the Super Star Cluster Alliance. Ordinary forces had no third way to go. If everyone wanted to maintain neutrality and stay away from the storm, the result would be that the territory would be gradually eroded by the Super Star Cluster Alliance. This was also the confidence of the three major civilizations in implementing this decision—no one wanted their own exploration results to be snatched away, and no one wanted to be eliminated.

And if there was a one in ten million chance that everyone would rather give up territory than get involved in the storm, then the three major civilizations would send regular troops to enter the arena. After taking down the Super Star Cluster Alliance, they would no longer take out the territory to distribute to other forces, and would justifiably occupy it, completing the "redistribution."

As for the Super-A Grade forces on the third side, they were a different kind of existence in this storm. Only they had the capital to be neutral, and the three major civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance would also avoid the territory occupied by the Super-A Grade forces to a certain extent.

And this was the influence brought about by the establishment of the Development Union, which had already deviated from the trajectory of the previous life, and the butterfly effect had begun to emerge!

Of course, the premise was that many Super-A Grades tried to observe as much as possible, and their subordinate forces could take the opportunity to expand, but opportunistic exploitation could not be too excessive, and there had to be a limit.

"A sinister strategy."

The commander-in-chief stroked his horn, snorted coldly, and suddenly increased his volume, shouting loudly, "Organize the fleet to advance toward the middle ring area. The time has come. We now have enough indirect allies."

Everyone stood up suddenly and gave a military salute in unison.

"Understood!"

...

On the other side, the Black Star Army's exploration front base in the Emerald Star Cluster.

The outbreak of the previous night's incident caused an uproar among the army's players. A large number of players gathered at the exploration front. The hall was crowded with players in various equipment, discussing and noisy.

"What's going on? I was on a business trip a few days ago and didn't have time to go online. How did the world change so much as soon as I came back? Are these guild alliances playing with snakes?"

"The Super Star Cluster Alliance wants to unify the free competition zone. How did those guys from the Northern Front and Pan-Federation get on the line?"

"I read the forum. They seem to have received a main storyline war mission from the Super Star Cluster side."

"But we don't have any related missions. Does this main storyline necessarily require choosing the Super Star Cluster Alliance to get it?"

"That's not necessarily the case. Didn't a big shot analyze the current situation? The three major civilizations will definitely not let it go. We are in the Black Star Army, so we should naturally be on the side of the three major civilizations."

While everyone was chattering and discussing, the floating screen in the hall popped up with an announcement from the three major civilizations, attracting everyone's attention.

After everyone browsed through it, the atmosphere became heated again.

"Haha, I said such a big situation couldn't be a one-sided main storyline."

"So this is a faction war. The three major civilizations and the Super Star Cluster are on opposite sides?"

"We're going to have a nation war!"

Countless players were extremely excited.

But after a while, the interface was still silent, and people gradually became suspicious.

"That's not right. Isn't it said to be a faction war? Why haven't we received any related main storyline missions?"

"Could it be that we have to trigger it actively? But who do we trigger it with?"

"We are people of the army. Perhaps we have to wait for the army to issue a formal announcement before we can get a mission?"

Just as everyone was in doubt, everyone's communicator's Phillip subprogram suddenly jumped out and issued an announcement:

[Black Star Army Mobilization Order]

[In view of the outbreak of conflict between the Three Great Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance, the Army has decided to launch an armed punitive expedition against the Modo Civilization Exploration Force, the reasons for which are detailed in the appendix "The Kunder Civilization" [Fold/Expand]. When launching targeted strikes against the areas occupied by the Modo Civilization, there is no need to care about affecting other Super Star Cluster Civilizations. If other forces obstruct our actions, our side may attack them as well. Expelling and eliminating the Modo Civilization is our primary strategic objective, and Army affiliated organizations may act on their own without deviating from the strategy.]

As soon as the announcement was issued, a task popped up on all the Army players' interfaces at the same time—Start a faction war with the Modo Civilization.

Apart from the specific requirements, it was no different in form from the main storyline mission received by the Super Star Cluster Alliance players.

Seeing this, many people grinned.

"That's right, that's right. Sure enough, we only get the main storyline mission after the Army issues an announcement."

"So the Modo Civilization has grudges with us?"

"Hey, it's obvious that you didn't carefully read the background story of the version update. The Modo Civilization conspired to use a Kundel Civilization from the Shattered Galaxy local and almost caused them to be exterminated. They are very cheap, and they deserve to be beaten."

Countless Army players were enthusiastic and couldn't wait to immediately kill into the middle ring area.

However, what they didn't know was that the mission they triggered had a problem and was not the main storyline of the Three Great Civilizations versus the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

The normal Three Great Civilizations affiliates or Super Star Cluster Alliance mercenaries, the missions they received would not specify which civilization to fight, but as long as they helped their own forces expand and kill anyone from the opposing faction, they could improve the mission rating.

The Army players' mission, although the mode was the same, the target was only the Modo Civilization.

Because of the position of the United Front, the Black Star Army and other Super-A Grade forces could not respond to the Crimson Empire's call and could not actively participate in the storm. Therefore, normally speaking, the Army players would not have the main storyline mission of the two sides fighting!

...

"Fortunately, I'm witty..."

Looking at the Army players' uniformly excited reactions on the forum, Han Xiao in the room secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As early as when the Development Union requested all members to be neutral, Han Xiao realized that the Black Star Army might not be able to join the main storyline of the Three Great Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance fighting this time. As the vice president, if he wanted to maintain his position and say in things, he had to obey the collective decision of the United Front.

He guessed this follow-up effect at the time, so he deliberately left the Modo Civilization as a target, so that the Three Great Civilizations and the Development Union would think that this was a personal grudge.

In this way, he could justifiably create a war mission, so that the Army players would mistakenly think that it was the main storyline. Although the mission target was more singular than the real main storyline, the players could only accept it.

Without this imitation main storyline, a large number of Army players who had not joined for long would inevitably be disappointed. In order to participate in the first world service nation war, some people would definitely defect to the other faction. This was beyond doubt. And after his operation, the negative impact was reduced to the minimum. Although the specific mission was different, at least they could enter the nation war, which was enough to satisfy the needs of most Army players.

At the same time, this could also form a contrast with other Super-A Grade forces. Most Super-A Grade camps could not participate in the main storyline, but the Black Star Army had an imitation main storyline. In this way, he could attract some players from other camps to defect to the Army.

On the other hand, the players in the nation war period in the previous life had a lot of room to freely play. To put it nicely, it was to strategize, but to put it bluntly, it was to fight on their own and fight randomly. And the main storyline he imitated had a strong purpose. The ultimate effect was to integrate the power of tens of millions of players in the Army, concentrate resources to target Modo, and have a greater chance to complete the "Kunder Leader's Last Wish" mission!

In this way, this hidden danger was basically resolved.

"United Front, United Front..."

Han Xiao muttered twice, somewhat helplessly.

Now the United Front had become a new shackle. It could still be maintained at present, but as this provision affected the interests of more members, there would inevitably be problems. It was estimated that the Three Great Civilizations also had plans to drag down the unity of the Super-A Grade group.

To be honest, as far as he could see, he felt that the probability of the Development Union and the Three Great Civilizations reaching an agreement was very low. There was a strong conflict of interest between the two sides' demands.

Just talking about the association, because the needs were different, the collective decision reached at present was naturally not the best plan. It could only be said that it was a plan that everyone did not strongly oppose.

The Development Union wanted the Three Great Civilizations to unconditionally lift the knowledge monopoly, and then talk about other cooperation. In the eyes of the Super-A Grade, it was a reasonable demand, because their ultimate knowledge was exchanged for meritorious service. They had paid enough for many years. They had already gathered the ultimate knowledge, but they were ordered not to teach it.

Only by breaking the monopoly of the Three Great Civilizations could the shackles of the camp be lifted. In this way, the association itself could spread knowledge, so that the current and future Super-A Grades would no longer need to sell their lives to the Three Great Civilizations to obtain the ultimate knowledge. After all, most people were not citizens of the Three Great Civilizations in the first place, and they did not have the responsibility to contribute in the first place. In this case, if someone wanted to join the Three Great Civilizations in the future, it was just to find a backer and was no longer necessary to a certain extent.

However, even if Han Xiao thought about it with his toes, he knew that the probability of the Three Great Civilizations agreeing was very low.

Unconditionally? Even he himself felt that he was dreaming!

But as the vice president, he had the obligation to convey the collective decision, and he could not represent so many people and make decisions without authorization, so he could only truthfully convey the association's meaning.

According to Han Xiao's own thoughts, it was actually not bad to agree to the transaction proposed by the Three Great Civilizations and use dealing with the Super Star Cluster to exchange for them to lift the knowledge monopoly. But most people did not agree. One was unwilling to destroy their original intention for this, the other was unwilling to take the risk of getting involved in this storm, and the third was that their positions were different... If the two sides continued to stalemate, Han Xiao could basically conclude that the final result was that the Super-A Grade Association could not bear it any longer and began to teach knowledge privately, and the Three Great Civilizations took the opportunity to attack.

"Difficult, difficult... But fortunately, it's nothing to me."

Han Xiao shook his head.

First of all, he had already obtained his ultimate knowledge, so he was not so concerned about the issue of knowledge monopoly.

Secondly, he knew where the turning point of this matter was, so he did not care about the problems exposed now.

"When the Superpower Disaster or the World Tree's seedlings appear, the existing pattern can be broken. Now is far from the time... Speaking of which, I don't know if the Covenant has succeeded."

Han Xiao curled his lips.

Temporarily throwing aside this idea, he pondered for a while, picked up the communicator, and dialed a person's number.

In the Super Star Cluster Alliance storm, the Super-A Grades other than the direct descendants of both sides would not intervene in this storm on the surface, but there would definitely be very few people who would do things in private, and Sorokin, who had embraced the thighs of the Three Great Civilizations, must be one of them.

The two people's interests were in line. This time, they might be able to secretly cooperate to beat Modo into pigskin.

Moreover, Han Xiao already had a bold guess about Sorokin's identity.

"It's a good time to verify it..." Han Xiao thought to himself.