Chapter 163 The Time is Ripe

After asking around, only a handful of the second batch of Resurrected chose to join the association. Han Xiao noted their names and then looked at the Sanctuary members, nodding.

“I'll leave this to you. You guys don't have anything better to do anyway. Help the new recruits integrate into the era. You should be able to handle it, right?”

“Don't worry, we're familiar with this domain. We're short of card players.”

Bai Ge'er smiled, agreeing on behalf of everyone.

The Oathkeeper next to him nodded subconsciously before suddenly reacting.

Wait a minute, isn't this my organization? Why are you giving the orders?

“That…”

The Oathkeeper wanted to speak.

However, before he could finish, Han Xiao clapped his hands, interrupting him, and smiled:

“I'm glad we've reached a consensus. Everyone, go familiarize yourselves with the situation of this era.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room immediately eased a lot. The Sanctuary members led everyone out of the room in an orderly fashion, chatting as they went, their voices fading away.

The Oathkeeper's mouth twitched slightly.

Am I, the leader of this organization, being ignored like this? Don't I have any dignity?

At this moment, Han Xiao walked over and patted the Oathkeeper on the shoulder, smiling:

“You're probably going to be busy for a while. This group of Resurrected is temporarily intimidated by me, but I can't keep an eye on them all the time. There will definitely be some who want to sneak away, so you have to keep a close watch, but don't be too obvious, lest you cause their resentment.”

“Understood… cough, I know what to do. You don't need to teach me.”

The Oathkeeper coughed dryly.

Han Xiao smiled, summoned the virtual screen, and quickly compiled a list.

“This is a partial list of keys to the other Sanctuaries. You guys are the professionals in this area, so it's best to collect them without limit. The more key shares we accumulate, the more confident we can be.”

“Did you find this in the Third Sanctuary?” The Oathkeeper looked surprised. “Why didn't I see it when I went?”

“It's possible that your permissions are too low…” Han Xiao shook his head, casually explaining. As for whether the Oathkeeper was deliberately hiding it, now was not the time to haggle over such trivial matters.

“Alright, this will make it easier for us to open the Sanctuaries in the future,” the Oathkeeper said happily.

Although the information recorded in each Sanctuary was different, the Sanctuary resurrection was universal. Mastering the methods of opening other Sanctuaries meant that the efficiency of replenishing resurrection attempts would increase several times, greatly shortening the time to collect Sanctuary keys.

After putting away the list, the Oathkeeper paused, changed the topic, and asked:

“Have you decided on the timing for the first batch of Resurrected to be released?”

“Probably within the next few months,” Han Xiao said with a hum.

“The attitudes of the three great civilizations will change drastically after they are released. Are you sure you can handle it?” the Oathkeeper asked with concern.

No matter how much psychological preparation he had made beforehand, as the leader of this storm, it was impossible not to worry. Especially since this was a trigger event that would inevitably cause a drastic change in the galactic landscape, a turning point in the fate of the Beyond Grade A, with far-reaching impact, potentially steering the future of interstellar society in another unknown direction. He couldn't help but feel nervous.

“I know what I'm doing. This is a step that must be taken, so there's no need to look back and forth.”

Han Xiao smiled slightly and patted him on the shoulder.

The Oathkeeper frowned slightly and slowly said, “Also… we've concealed the truth about Sanctuary resurrection, leading others to believe that resurrection is only possible once. In that case, although the three great civilizations will still be wary, they probably won't give up the idea of a Great Cleansing… so are we really not going to reveal the truth about Sanctuary resurrection?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao shook his head.

“It's fine. We have to keep this trump card hidden. Although revealing it would make the three great civilizations hesitate, they would also adjust their strategies accordingly. It's better to give them the wrong information. After all, unlimited resurrection… it's useless to just talk about it. If the Great Cleansing really happens, it won't be too late to resurrect again. It will not only disrupt the strategies of the three great civilizations, but also be a surprise for the dead.

“Besides, fear is the shackle of desire. If we tell the Resurrected the truth now, it will be difficult to manage them. Wouldn't they take off?”

The Oathkeeper said helplessly, “But in that case, you will bear too much pressure… The Resurrected were introduced into the association by you, so everyone will think that you hold the truth. The three great civilizations will definitely come after you. Can you handle it?”

“It's not a big problem. As long as the association sees the existence of Sanctuary resurrection, the Beyond Grade A will be united around me more than ever. In addition, with my abilities, forces, and the existence of the Netherworld, there's no problem in temporarily confronting the three great civilizations, which will give us room for negotiation.”

Han Xiao smiled, reassuring the Oathkeeper.

The Oathkeeper nodded, his tone solemn:

“It's good that you have a plan. In short, whether we can walk freely in the sun in the future depends on you.”

…

The next day, Han Xiao took over the association again, and Keshuyr retreated to the position of deputy. In private, he contacted Han Xiao more than once, trying to indirectly inquire about the results of Han Xiao's trip, but Han Xiao brushed him off.

After disappearing for about four months, Han Xiao reappeared in public, which did not attract much attention. It was too common for Beyond Grade A to travel, so the various forces did not think much about Han Xiao's short-term disappearance.

After waiting patiently for more than half a month, the three great civilizations finally made a move and sent a private meeting invitation.

“After watching for so long, they can't sit still anymore…”

In the room, Han Xiao saw the invitation notification on the communicator, and his spirits lifted as he sat up straight.

He opened the network link of the invitation letter and remotely projected himself into the online conference room.

In the next second, his vision blurred, and he arrived in a secret conference room. The remote projections of the heads of the three families, Light, Empire, and Void Spirit, were already in the room.

“Black Star, you're here.”

The Emperor of the Empire, Marbrus, revealed a rigid smile.

Han Xiao glanced around and put on the signature smile of Old Eight from the Netherworld. “Your Excellencies, what can I do for you?”

“We haven't officially congratulated you on your appointment as president of the Beyond Grade A Association. Congratulations on becoming the president.” Marbrus nodded.

“Thank you,” Han Xiao said with a smile. “This is all thanks to the love of the members.”

“We have high hopes for you. You are more suitable to lead the Beyond Grade A Association than Manison. We all believe that under your leadership, the Beyond Grade A Association will go further and further on the right path of cooperation and win-win…”

The few of them exchanged a few polite greetings as usual before getting down to business.

President Louis of Light stroked his small mustache and said, “We've called you here today mainly because we need your help… The chaos of the Beyond Grade A Association members privately imparting the ultimate knowledge of various Superpower Systems has been going on for too long. Manison deliberately condoned it when he was in power, ignoring it. Now that you've become the president of the association, we hope you can help deal with this problem.”

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. “I'll try, but I can't guarantee it will work. After all, I can't restrict the private lives of every member.”

As if hearing Han Xiao's perfunctory attitude, the Head of the Void Spirit coughed, strengthened his tone, and slowly said, “Black Star, we attach great importance to this issue. The chaos has been going on for decades, and it's impossible to allow it to continue to exist. There's a limit to our patience. We hope to see the situation improve as soon as possible.”

“I'll try my best.”

Han Xiao was not angry, but maintained his smile and did not directly refuse. He was not surprised.

Because the three great civilizations had never relaxed the restrictions on ultimate knowledge, the association could only spread it privately. This was an important factor in attracting new blood, and Han Xiao would naturally not agree. The three great civilizations were definitely aware of this. The motive for deliberately making this request was partly to test the attitude of the new president, and partly to pave the way for the 'Great Cleansing'.

If he did not comply, the three great civilizations would have an excuse to target the association. If the association compromised, it would not matter. Most likely, people's hearts would be unstable and divisions would arise. Moreover, there was still the ever-useful trump card of fabricated charges.

The three of them took a deep look at Han Xiao.

“Then we'll wait for your results. You won't let us down, will you?”

“Of course, I've always believed in the path of win-win cooperation. You know that.” Han Xiao smiled. “If there's nothing else, I'll log off?”

“Yes, you can go ahead.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao gave a simple salute and hung up the communication. The remote projection left in the room disappeared.

Only the three leaders were left in the room. They looked at each other and nodded, reaching a consensus.

“It seems that it's time to take substantive action.”

Black Star replacing the Mechanic Emperor was the time to act. In their opinion, the biggest difference between Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor was that Black Star knew how to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages too well and was not as tough as the Mechanic Emperor. The probability of him overturning the table was very small. This was also one of the reasons why they waited for Han Xiao to take office before taking action—the leader's personality was very important.

The three of them did not intend to deal with Black Star. Their plan was to kill a batch and win over another batch. Basically, the peak Beyond Grade A were not the targets of the three great civilizations. On the contrary, they would appease and win over this group of people during the operation, so as to divide the Beyond Grade A group internally.

According to the personality analysis made by big data, Black Star had a very strong tendency to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. In order to protect his own interests, there was only a small probability that he would completely oppose the three great civilizations for the sake of other Beyond Grade A. As long as their actions were firm enough and their methods were cruel enough, Black Star would most likely protect himself wisely, which would provide them with conditions to split the association.

The most ideal result was for the Beyond Grade A Association to disband, the backbone and bottom forces to be killed and injured, and most of the unstable factors to be eliminated, leaving only the direct members and the peak Beyond Grade A. In this way, the power of individuals could fall back into the control of the three great civilizations and return to its original state.

While the three of them were discussing the plan, in the Black Star Army's office, Han Xiao put down the communicator, his eyes flickering, and muttered to himself:

“The situation is approaching the critical point. It seems that it's time for the Resurrected to be released… Coincidentally, a new member has recently applied to join the association. We can take this opportunity to make an appearance and announce their existence to the entire universe.”

…

Half a month later, the headquarters of the Beyond Grade A Association, Feinn Star.

A small fleet dragged a blue tail flame and slowly entered the planet's spaceport.

Standing in front of the bridge porthole of the main ship was a thin figure, looking out at the panoramic view of Feinn Star.

“We've finally arrived. The Beyond Grade A Association has finally accepted my application…”

Ma'aerson heaved a sigh of relief.

He was a new Beyond Grade A who was born a few years ago and was nurtured by a galactic civilization—although the probability was slim, it was not completely impossible. Some civilizations always had good luck.

As the only Beyond Grade A of the civilization, Ma'aerson had a heavy responsibility on his shoulders. After entering the Beyond Grade A realm, he acted as the guardian of the civilization, consolidating the civilization's power and seeking benefits in the region. He did not join the Beyond Grade A Association immediately, and he also rejected the olive branches of other civilizations.

It was not until now that he applied to join the association, and he came with a mission, hoping to gain a foothold in the Beyond Grade A Association and use the resources of other members to feed back the civilization.

Today was the welcoming party specially held by the association for him. For this day, Ma'aerson had made many preparations, and even asked professionals to draft a speech and memorized it, intending to make a proper speech at the welcoming party to win the favor of others and quickly integrate into the group.

“I hope everything goes smoothly…”

The spaceship stopped at the port. Ma'aerson walked onto the pier, followed the reception staff from the internal passage to the temporary rest area of the venue, and kept rehearsing in his mind what kind of posture he should use to speak later.

Soon, Ma'aerson arrived at the door of the rest area, pushed the door open, and subconsciously glanced inside, suddenly stunned.

He saw dozens of people sitting or standing in the room, chatting casually. Hearing someone push the door open, they stopped talking and focused their attention on him.

'Isn't the temporary rest area a single room? Did I go to the wrong place?'

Ma'aerson was stunned for a moment, took a step back, looked at the room number, and was at a loss.

That's right, this is the rest area for the newcomers waiting to enter the venue. Shouldn't this be my room? Where did these people come from?

Just then, the people in the room suddenly laughed. The person closest to the door stood up, pulled the confused Ma'aerson in, and pressed him onto the sofa.

“Yo, a real newcomer has finally arrived.”

“Sit down, sit down, have something to eat.”

“This is the first time I've seen a newcomer from the new era.”

The others gathered around, looking him up and down curiously, and greeted him in a chattering manner.

Ma'aerson was sandwiched between the crowd, at a loss, and couldn't help but ask:

“Who are you people? This should be my room. Irrelevant people, please leave!”

Hearing this, the others looked at each other, revealing subtle smiles, and suddenly shook their bodies in unison.

Boom!

The aura of the Beyond Grade A erupted suddenly and then quickly subsided.

Ma'aerson was startled and froze in place, completely dumbfounded.

These strangers in the room were all Beyond Grade A?!

“Y-You guys are…”

Ma'aerson's eyes widened, his brain short-circuited, and he couldn't speak smoothly.

Bai Ge'er said playfully, “Don't be so nervous. We're all newcomers joining the association in this batch, just like you.”

“Impossible! How could dozens of new Beyond Grade A appear silently in the universe! Who are you people!”

Ma'aerson stood up abruptly, completely losing his composure.

Wasn't today's welcoming party held to welcome him alone?!

Bai Ge'er smiled and waved his hand. “We're not strangers. Take a closer look. Do you recognize us?”

Hearing this, Ma'aerson hurriedly scanned and observed the people present, and suddenly his expression changed drastically.

“I've seen your information… You are the Originals?!”

“Haha, I knew you recognized us… Don't make that expression. We've just been resurrected, what's so surprising about that?”

Bai Ge'er smiled and patted Ma'aerson on the shoulder.

Ma'aerson collapsed on the sofa as if his bones had been removed. His eyes were dull, and he looked like he had been played to death.

At this moment, his mind was blank, completely in a daze, with only one thought left…

When did I fall asleep?

————

ps: py recommends a book "Detective in the Film and Television World", written by Bingyuan Sanya, who was reborn in the United States and transformed into a police detective who intruded into various film and television copies. I have read a section before, and it is quite interesting. If you are interested, you can go and take a look.