Chapter 146 The Aftermath of the Plague

The official announcements of the three great civilizations spread throughout the major star systems, quickly dispelling the atmosphere of unease and panic that had gripped interstellar society since the outbreak of the Intelligent Plague.

Although most civilizations and races criticized certain aspects of the three great civilizations' conduct, they held extraordinary trust in them when it came to matters concerning the safety of the explored universe. These three pillars always provided a reassuring strength.

Before the impact of the announcements had faded, the three great civilizations officially lifted the blockade of the Ancient Star Desert just over half a month later, reintegrating this star field into the interstellar society's system.

The first generation of virtual rebellion virus was basically eliminated. The three great civilizations launched dedicated firewalls in multiple star systems. Without the core of self-evolution, the virus could no longer cause trouble and would eventually disappear completely over time, removing the threat.

The specific situation in the Ancient Star Desert also spread, which was much more detailed than the announcements of the three great civilizations. The enthusiasm and interest of interstellar citizens rose once again.

During his return journey, Han Xiao paid attention to the public opinion trends in interstellar society. It was mostly one-sided praise for the achievements of the three great civilizations and the Super-A Grade mechanic think tank led by him, interspersed with criticisms of Manison and complaints about the security situation in certain areas.

During the Intelligent Plague, the various star systems were also unstable. In most cases, some regional rebel forces tried to incite panic, all of which were suppressed with an iron fist. The mercenaries who tried to smuggle into the Ancient Star Desert to obtain the virus mostly ended up in the prisons of the three great civilizations, while the rest were placed on wanted lists.

The public opinion situation was excellent, with no disharmonious remarks, or rather, the negative remarks were all harmonized.

The interstellar media in various regions, like bloodhounds smelling blood, flocked to the Ancient Star Desert, visiting various planets and digging into the detailed situation during the disaster. They produced a large number of special programs in a very short period to compete for news hotspots, with the authorization and tacit approval of the three great civilizations.

Power comes from obedience. The three great civilizations had accomplished a great feat and needed the media to guide public opinion, sing praises, and amplify the propaganda to consolidate their rule's recognition.

The Black Star Army fleet carrying Han Xiao and his group warped through the Imperial military stargate all the way until they just arrived at the Shattered Star Ring on the edge of the universe, when the Empire once again sent people to contact Han Xiao.

"A commendation ceremony?"

Han Xiao heard this term from Tarrokov, the marshal of the Imperial Exploration Army who was also acting as a liaison.

"That's right. Under the leadership of the three great civilizations, the explored universe has once again resolved a cosmic disaster, which will inevitably be recorded in the historical milestones. For the meritorious officials in the disaster relief operation, we have always held a large-scale commendation ceremony to commend their achievements. You are naturally among those invited."

Han Xiao was no stranger to this. Although he felt it was somewhat formalistic, he also knew that such activities were essential. The great affairs of a country lie in sacrifice and war, and life needs a sense of ritual.

"Okay, where will the commendation ceremony be held? What time? Don't tell me I have to make a trip to the Central Star Sea. I just got back to base."

"This time, the commendation ceremony is jointly held by the three great civilizations. In order to conform to the trends of the times and facilitate the participation of all the Super-A Grades, it has been decided to hold the ceremony in the Flickering World in the new star field. The time is three months from now, which is plenty of time."

"That's quite convenient," Han Xiao nodded. He suddenly lowered his voice and asked in a mysterious tone, "Give me a hint, is your deployment against the Super Star Cluster Alliance ready? When will you make a move?"

"I don't think this is a good time to talk about this..." Tarrokov coughed and lowered his voice as well. "Anyway, after the fourth phase of the Free Competition Zone exploration is completed, the three great civilizations will consider reallocating the territory occupied by the Super Star Cluster Alliance, not taking it back, but sharing it with the free forces and other civilizations... Perhaps a law similar to the 'New Star Field Anti-Monopoly Exploration Ordinance' will be introduced as a reason."

Accusing others of what you're doing yourself, a familiar tactic… Han Xiao secretly curled his lip. This was the trend in his previous life, so he was not surprised.

"Speaking of which, before you lifted the blockade of the Ancient Star Desert, did you do anything to the Super Star Clusters over there?"

"We didn't this time, and you understand why... However, although we didn't attack them, we took the opportunity to leave a large number of hidden stakes and informants to closely monitor the movements of troops and supplies of the Star Arc Civilization and the like, in preparation for possible friction and conflict," Tarrokov explained.

"So evil," Han Xiao clicked his tongue.

"You're the last person who should be saying that," Tarrokov said grumpily. "Don't think I don't know. I heard a lot of rumors from the intelligence department that you left a lot of things in the black market of the Ancient Star Desert."

"Tit for tat," Han Xiao said nonchalantly.

The two had known each other for many years and were old acquaintances. After exchanging a few verbal blows, they prepared to end the communication.

At this moment, Tarrokov remembered something and said, "If you have time, you can watch a program. Colleagues from the public opinion control department seem to have sent some materials about you over."

After hanging up the communication, Han Xiao received the link sent by Tarrokov.

After opening it, the virtual screen switched to show a current affairs talk show, which seemed to have been updated recently. This was a program similar to *Luden Has an Appointment*, but more authoritative, called *Focus Interview*, which took the upper-class route.

After opening it and taking a look, this episode was a special report on the Intelligent Plague, analyzing and introducing the impact on the Ancient Star Desert. Han Xiao fast-forwarded and finally saw his name.

A well-dressed Godoran was speaking eloquently on the screen, and the subtitles next to him introduced him as a senior researcher in interstellar society, a scholar.

"...Before Black Star left Aquamarine, the Godora Civilization already knew about this person. We personally watched the Black Star Army rise step by step. We have even fought side by side in history. The Black Star Army has passed the primitive accumulation stage of brutal growth. From the recent Black Star Cup, the Holy Light Envoy project, and the Intelligent Plague incident, it is not difficult to see that they are now trying to shoulder more social responsibilities.

Although Black Star is a cosmic warlord, his code of conduct is different from others. Now that he has vast social resources, he seems to be more enthusiastic about using these resources to maintain and improve the cosmic environment than to occupy and devour them. Other Super-A Grade warlords make us feel awe and fear, but for Black Star, we have more respect and admiration. He brings us a different kind of perception, diluting the interstellar citizens' inherent fear of the peak of individual power. Perhaps this is the source of his extraordinary affinity..."

Han Xiao felt great hearing him praise him so much. At this moment, the screen switched and flashed through his deeds, accompanied by a calm narration that sounded very rigorous and official.

Soon it came to the recent event. This program obtained first-hand video data of the confrontation in Cloud Magnet Star and broadcast it exclusively to the entire universe.

*This should be the propaganda material sent by the Empire*, Han Xiao thought to himself.

He saw the screen record the process of his confrontation with Manison from a third-person perspective. He heard himself say that famous quote again, and gave it a close-up:

"...The universe is vast, but it has an end, while ambition is endless."

Han Xiao stared at the screen, and the corner of his mouth curled up.

He had to admit that at this moment, he looked so handsome on screen.

The Empire specifically sent this video because they believed that this scene could sublimate his public image and was conducive to propaganda.

In the next moment, the narration ended, and the screen turned to a magnificent office, changing to a new interviewer, who was also a big shot. The subtitles introduced this person as the chairman of the Stuart Committee.

Kleber·Peterson, a life-long professor at the Glorious Federation's Supreme Institute of Technology, the principal of the Truth Academy, and the recipient of medals such as "Stars" and "Eyes of Heller"... A long list of honors and titles could not be written on the screen and could only be scrolled.

The Stuart Committee was not just any random organization. It had a great background, a long history, and a transcendent status. The founder was Dr. Stuart Onar, the founder of energy level theory, who was the traditional "Father of Superpowers".

In his later years, he founded an award in his own name to reward experts in various fields who have made significant achievements, and the committee was the organization that manages and evaluates the awards, which was quite similar to the Nobel Prize in Han Xiao's previous life, but with a higher status. It had been running for thousands of years.

Every year, the three great civilizations and advanced civilizations would provide special sponsorship. The Stuart Award maintained absolute objectivity and neutrality, and the awards were not interfered with by any political or economic factors. It was selected once every three years, and dared not say that every time it was what everyone expected, but its authority was indeed very high.

Kleber stroked his neatly groomed gray braided beard and smiled at the camera:

"Black Star is a cosmic powerhouse and a respectable scientist. I have admired him for a long time. Putting aside his abilities, I also admire his ideas. I am also a scientist, and I am very clear about our strong desire for academics and strong curiosity. No one understands better than me how much perseverance it takes to personally destroy an unknown technology. I admire Black Star very much. He is the first special security consultant for the three great civilizations in history, and he deserves it.

I can reveal some small insider information here. Our Stuart Committee has received many nominations from members for the Black Star Peace Prize. Black Star's chances of winning this year's Stuart Peace Prize are very high. From my personal point of view, I am very optimistic about him. He has made great contributions to the universe."

Kleber did not hide his appreciation for Han Xiao in his words and made a simple summary at the end of the interview:

"When we look back and study this history in the future, we may regard Black Star's choice today as a turning point in the era. He may have influenced the direction of the world格局."

Han Xiao let out a breath.

He had heard of the Stuart Award, but this kind of high-end thing naturally had nothing to do with the players in his previous life.

"If I win this year's Stuart Peace Prize, it will probably be another point of cosmic legend. The Empire is really making every effort to promote me."

Han Xiao grinned in his heart and was very satisfied with the publicity efforts of the three great civilizations. During this period, he had been watching various programs on how to praise him in various ways.

With so many honors, he could use them as a protective halo to reflect damage. If anyone attacked him, they would inevitably suffer the backlash of public opinion and lose a lot of reputation. Even if the Federation of Light and the EsGod wanted to deal with him again, they would have to ruin his reputation first, otherwise they would have to weigh the loss of reputation.

"Di Di..."

At this moment, the communicator rang, and a communication request was received.

Han Xiao took a look, and it was Ames's call.

As soon as the call was connected, Ames's graceful figure in a black dress was projected in front of him, with her arms crossed and a shallow arc on her lips.

"I saw the video. You copied what I said."

"Haha, it just suddenly occurred to me."

"Looks like you listened to me. You have a deep impression," Ames squinted her eyes, and a wave of laughter flowed in her curved crescent moons, showing that she was in a great mood.

"I remember basically everything you say."

"You're getting more and more likeable..."

Ames blinked and chuckled:

"I have nothing to do at home. Do you have time to come see me?"

"Do you miss me?"

"Are you coming or not?" Ames raised her eyebrows slightly.

"You've already invited me, how can I not go? Let me arrange my schedule. It's on the way."

"Okay, I'll wait for you at home."

Ames took two steps forward and reached out to touch Han Xiao's cheek, but it was a pity that it was just a projection and there was no feeling of physical contact. She then chuckled and ended the communication, and her figure disappeared on the spot.

Han Xiao touched his face and shook his head amusedly.

"It's not good to visit empty-handed. I should bring some gifts..."

It just so happened that the three great civilizations had opened up the permissions, so he could exchange an esper-type ultimate knowledge to give to Ames.

He could also give it to Hela in the future, making the best use of it.

By the way, he just happened to have something to ask Iso. Having an old person at home is like having a treasure. Perhaps the old geezer knew some information about the sanctuary, covenant, oath-taker, or Manison.

Moreover, Han Xiao had a faint feeling.

He felt that if he ran over to find Ames now, he might encounter some unexpected gains...

Thinking like this, Han Xiao couldn't help but look out the window, and Harrison happened to walk by.