Chapter 1082 Real

He Hanxiao's figure teleported into the dragon-seated palace in the center of Dragon Tane Floating Island. He raised his eyes and saw a round table in front of him, neatly arranged with exquisite snacks and fruits. Ames was sitting in a chair, seemingly prepared.

Ames was smiling at the communicator. Seeing him arrive, she ended the communication, put away the communicator, and shifted her gaze to him, keeping the corners of her mouth raised.

"I knew you'd come. Sit down, the wine is ready."

Han Xiao stepped forward and sat down next to Ames, helplessly saying, "I've been quite busy lately. I haven't been here for a while. I've been neglecting you."

"When are you not busy?" Ames said noncommittally.

Han Xiao shook his head, picked up a glass, took a sip of wine, and smacked his lips. "Why does the taste seem different from before?"

"Ever since Izo returned last time, he improved the recipe."

Ames manipulated the force field and filled Han Xiao's glass again.

Han Xiao chuckled. "Speaking of which, after Izo's kidnapping, I'm a little surprised you didn't refuse Izo's request to travel. I thought you'd confine him for a long time."

"If it weren't for the Soul Transfer Instrument, I wouldn't have agreed," Ames snorted.

After Fording obtained the Soul Transfer Instrument, Han Xiao had advised Izo. After considering it for a long time, Izo adopted his suggestion and requested Fording to temporarily transfer his soul to another powerful being to follow them on their travels, which was both secretive and safe. Ames finally agreed to his request.

"The Soul Transfer Instrument is indeed a good thing, but it's a pity that Fording is only at the Celestial grade now, so the effectiveness is limited." Han Xiao shook his head, then suddenly thought of something and changed the subject. "I have a gift for you."

"What are you giving me?" Ames raised her eyebrows.

Han Xiao took out a pure white ball from his pocket, handed it to Ames, and smiled. "This is a cosmic treasure I happened to obtain. It can help Esper-types develop their abilities. Here."

Ames took the ball and manipulated it with the force field, flying it around a few times, curiously asking, "What's this thing called, and how do you use it?"

"Let's just call it the Esper Enhancement Orb. The usage is simple, just use your energy to permeate it every day and play with it."

Han Xiao briefly explained its function.

This thing was one of the cosmic treasures secretly collected by Sorokin, which he had seized. The item description on the panel showed that its function was to randomly enhance various ability parameters of Espers. It needed to be worn for a long time to have a chance of triggering the effect. The probability was unknown, and the amount of increase triggered each time was not high.

Accumulated to the limit, it could at most increase the Esper potential by one level, allowing the ability to complete a sublimation and transformation, and then it would become ineffective for the same user.

However, the enhancement effect was not guaranteed to appear and might be useless. According to the introduction, the probability of triggering the enhancement depended to a certain extent on the Luck attribute… Basically, it could be understood as those with bad luck being unwelcome.

Han Xiao used to play with the dragon, and he remembered that Ames had quite high Luck, so she should be able to trigger this treasure. After she finished using it, with her relationship with Hella and others, wouldn't she lend it to them? It was simply perfect.

"Then I'll accept it, thanks." Ames played with it for a while and put it away.

Over the years, Han Xiao often gave her gifts. A few years ago, Han Xiao even secretly gave her a complete set of Esper-type knowledge, which almost made her think that Han Xiao had gone to invade the Empire's database.

The two ate snacks and chatted casually.

Most of the time, Han Xiao was talking and Ames was listening, supporting her chin with her hand, staring at Han Xiao with a smile.

After chatting for a while, Ames suddenly interrupted Han Xiao.

"I've noticed that you've been preoccupied these past few years."

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment. "How did you see that?"

"I know you too well." Ames smiled lightly. "Do you want to have a heart-to-heart talk with me?"

Han Xiao's expression was helpless.

Indeed, since learning the secrets of the Sanctuary and Iteration, his psychological pressure had increased, and he had been burying himself in research these past few years, keeping himself very busy and not daring to slack off.

Han Xiao thought for a while, and said in a low voice, "In recent years, I've been thinking about a question. What if our world only exists as a phantom of the past, and the reality we see is just an illusion inside a cage?"

"Why do you suddenly have such thoughts?" Ames asked curiously.

"... I just came into contact with some intelligence and made associations."

Han Xiao's answer was ambiguous. He would naturally not easily reveal information about the Star Cluster Alliance, the Universe Iteration, or the Sanctuary.

In fact, he had long suspected this, but he knew that this question was difficult to answer, so he had been suppressing it in his heart. It was not until he came into contact with the Sanctuary and Iteration that he had more conjectures.

Although Ames didn't understand what Han Xiao was talking about, she could feel the pressure revealed in Han Xiao's tone, as if it carried a sense of detachment, as well as a rare hint of confusion.

Most of the time, Han Xiao was very confident. She rarely saw Han Xiao like this. Although she didn't know why Han Xiao had been under so much pressure these past few years, for her, these were all unimportant details. She only knew that the Han Xiao in front of her needed her comfort.

With this in mind, Ames showed a faint smile.

"It doesn't matter. I only know that breathing is real, temperature is real, touch is real..."

As she spoke, Ames held Han Xiao's hands in her own, blinked her eyes, and whispered:

"I am also real."

The two looked at each other for a full ten seconds.

"... Cough cough, be a little reserved, this isn't in a secondary dimension."

Han Xiao suddenly coughed and pulled out his hand.

"Heh." Ames chuckled, her meaning unclear.

The two tacitly glossed over this topic and chatted casually for a few more hours before Han Xiao got up to say goodbye and teleported away.

Looking at the empty seat, Ames suddenly sighed softly.

Having been together for so long, she had long felt that Black Star seemed to have a wide range of acquaintances, but for some reason, he always kept his heart closed, not allowing anyone to reach the deepest part.

…

In a secret military training base of the Crimson Dynasty, this was where Gaude was "cultivated".

A spaceship was docked at the port, the hatch wide open, extending two long lines. One line was queuing to board the ship, and the other was disembarking in an orderly manner. Most of the former were dejected, while the latter were basically confident.

This was a transport ship carrying a new batch of trainees, and it was also responsible for picking up the eliminated trainees from the training base.

Karot was mixed in the boarding queue and couldn't help but look back in the direction of the training base.

Karot had always been on the edge of the elimination list in each term. If it hadn't been for Gaude's support back then, he might have been kicked out by the base supervisor long ago. But now, Gaude had disappeared, and his words had naturally lost their effect. The base supervisor no longer gave Karot special treatment and put him on the elimination list for this term, no longer focusing on his training.

"I've been studying here for almost ten years, but it's a pity I still couldn't stay here..."

Karot sighed softly.

He wasn't too frustrated, just felt regret.

He had worked hard for so long and finally discovered the training secrets of the super-power system, but before he could change his training methods, he was kicked out...

"Forget it, at least these ten years of study weren't a waste. It's good to have gained something."

Karot shook his head, retracted his gaze, and no longer lingered, striding onto the spaceship. His energetic spirit was out of tune with the dejected crowd around him.

…

After the Gaude and Sorokin incidents were settled, interstellar society finally entered a period of stable development.

The Super Star Cluster civilizations that failed in the Flickering World War silently licked their wounds, while the major participating forces recuperated and continued to digest the exploration dividends. The Crimson Dynasty and the Light Federation were changing leadership and needed a period of stability, while the Beyond Grade A Association continued its chemical reactions, creating a joint interest group.

In the atmosphere of tacit peace and development between all parties, the Flickering World smoothly completed all its exploration plans, such as the fifth and sixth phases, and finally officially incorporated the entire Flickering World into the explored universe, bringing even more prosperity to interstellar society and countless business opportunities.

Even a pig can fly when standing on the wind, and the large-scale development of the Flickering World gave birth to many emerging forces. New consortiums appeared in the Flickering World every so often.

The Black Star Army developed even more rapidly after swallowing part of the Infinite Consortium's business. It rapidly expanded in various star fields, and its influence grew larger and larger, which also allowed Han Xiao's status to rise accordingly.

With the two hidden dangers of Gaude and Sorokin resolved and Manison quietly accumulating strength, no one in the universe came to provoke Han Xiao during this time, allowing him to finally obtain the longest period of peaceful development to date.

With the external environment calm, Han Xiao buried himself in studying Jess's technology treasure trove in addition to his daily activities, and occasionally tried to analyze life energy. Basically, every day was busy and fulfilling.

As a figure who had long been at the center of public opinion, he would always slap himself in the face every time he said he wanted to keep a low profile. But this time, Han Xiao finally faded from the public eye, retreating behind the scenes like other normal Beyond Grade As who were in seclusion.

Although the universe remembered him as a person, the stage was empty, left for newcomers to emerge.

This situation continued until Star Sea Calendar 780. On this day, the Beyond Grade A Association ushered in its fiftieth anniversary since its establishment.

At the same time, this also meant that the fifty-year term of the president was finally up for re-election.

——

ps:py recommends the book "Monsters Die When They Are Killed", by the author Yin Tian Shen Yin.

Introduction: A story of quickly righting wrongs, clearing the haze, dissipating conspiracies, and defeating evil. A story of reversing fate, overcoming tragedy, and turning all sadness into fulfillment.