Chapter 1 Elite Soldiers

The elite soldiers of the empire acted with swift efficiency. After a quick round of introductions, the four men immediately applied to receive the transformation without asking for rest.

Han Xiao didn't refuse. There would be plenty of time to talk after the transformation was complete.

*Zzzzzz…*

A flash of blue-gold machinery force appeared, and a silver cube hovered overhead. A password was entered to activate it, and evolutionary energy immediately poured out, spreading like a tide throughout the hall, enveloping tens of thousands of elites clad in standard imperial military uniforms.

Retracting the Evolutionary Cube, Han Xiao nodded as he surveyed the hall filled with black cocoons.

His gaze shifted to Taine's cocoon. A smirk tugged at Han Xiao's lips as he mused, "Since you've delivered yourself right to my doorstep, how can I not invest in you…"

He was intimately familiar with the life and career of this future imperial commander, one of the most famous NPCs in multiple versions.

In the future, Taine would independently command numerous large-scale imperial fleets, earning the moniker "Imperial Iron Hoof." His battlefield exploits were legendary, and he demonstrated remarkable prowess in every version. Players of the empire faction could choose to join his ranks, becoming his soldiers or officers, with plenty of war-related missions available.

Taine was most famous for two achievements. First, during the Super Power Calamity version, he led his fleet to surround and kill a rampaging Super-A grade all on his own, without any assistance from other powerhouses!

Second, during the World Tree Civilization invasion, he sacrificed himself for the sake of the overall strategic situation, leading his troops to charge through hundreds of star systems to hold back the enemy's massive invasion, breaking through enemy lines with unstoppable momentum and carving deep into the World Tree Civilization's heartland, buying precious time. In the end, his entire force was annihilated, dragging countless powerful enemies down with them in a tragic and heroic finale.

Taine's strength was merely at the Heavenly Disaster grade, but he was an exceptional commander, strategist, and fleet admiral. He excelled at large-scale coordinated operations, enabling the imperial fleet to unleash astonishing combat power in his hands. To the empire, such a capable military talent was even more valuable than a Super-A grade with individual power.

According to his life trajectory, Taine Armentos would rise to a high position in the empire in the future, wielding significant military power. Now that he had the opportunity to befriend this future military big shot of the empire, Han Xiao would naturally not let it pass.

Factions within the empire were numerous and constantly vying for power. The first batch of imperial elites to undergo transformation were elites selected by each faction. Most of the slots had been divided up. Taine, representing the rising military faction, was a very powerful force, and he would become one of the representatives of the faction in the future, making him worthy of befriending and winning over.

Han Xiao was well aware that while he had become an ally of the Crimson Dynasty, this was just the beginning and he couldn't afford to be complacent. Even as an ally, he had to find ways to increase his influence within the empire. After all… he wasn't the only Super-A grade in the empire.

"I've been operating in the Shattered Star Ring for over twenty years and I'm considered a big shot, but in the Central Galaxy, there are more Super-A grades than in the Shattered Star Ring, and many of them are well-established veterans. My influence there is very limited," Han Xiao thought to himself.

Cosmic civilizations possessed immense power, with countless experts and allies. The network of interests was intricate and complex. While he currently held a certain status within the empire, his say was pitifully small, and even this was largely due to the added value of the Evolutionary Cube.

The other three captains next to Taine were also familiar and well-known figures, although they didn't achieve the same heights as Taine. But since these leeks had come to his door, he was determined to harvest them all, not letting a single one escape.

"Speaking of which…"

Han Xiao suddenly had an inspiration.

"I control the Evolutionary Cube. The Crimson Dynasty will continuously send people over. Does that mean I'm just waiting for… uh, waiting to reap the leeks?"

…

The evolution lasted for half a day. Tens of thousands of imperial elites emerged from their cocoons one after another.

Taine was the last to complete his evolution, extending his palm and clenching his fist, familiarizing himself with the changes in his body.

"This feeling is amazing…" Subordinate Officer Kerberus was overjoyed. He originally wasn't qualified to be selected, but because he was Taine's subordinate officer, he had been given this opportunity.

"It is indeed miraculous, and feels even better than the Glorious Federation's gene adjustment," Taine nodded steadily.

Newborns in cosmic civilizations generally underwent free gene adjustment at birth to enhance their potential.

The Glorious Federation's gene adjustment technology was far superior to the other two civilizations, and it was one of their distinguishing features. The Glorious Federation had the highest proportion of espers in the entire galaxy.

A legion affairs officer who had been waiting approached them and said, "Friends from the Crimson Dynasty, the legion commander has instructed me to wait here for you to complete your evolution and then take you to the legion's guest quarters to rest."

The group nodded. Some of them would follow the empire's logistics team to the Flickering World to pioneer, and the fleet was expected to rest at the Black Star Army headquarters for a period of time, so they would naturally stay behind to wait.

The other part of the imperial elites were simply here to receive the evolution and would return to the Central Galaxy after it was completed. Taine was one of them, and Han Xiao happened to be planning to travel with them. Sui had already informed them of this, so they also had to stay at the legion headquarters and wait for Han Xiao to set off together.

The group made their way to the guest area and settled down. Before they had sat for long, Han Xiao arrived at their door. Taine and several of the team leaders went out to welcome him.

As soon as Han Xiao entered, he first asked about everyone's evolution experience, then shifted the topic to the situation within the empire, chatting casually.

The elites who came from the Crimson Dynasty were indeed different. Perhaps because they were officers in a cosmic civilization and had seen many Super-A grades, their attitude was very natural. They were neither nervous nor arrogant, sitting together and chatting and laughing.

His purpose in coming here was to build relationships with these future imperial military big shots, increase mutual understanding, and facilitate future friendships, sworn brotherhoods, and invitations to join his cause.

He had a deep understanding of everyone present and enjoyed their conversations.

However, Han Xiao noticed that Taine was the calmest, constantly observing him, seemingly with a certain degree of caution.

For their first meeting, Han Xiao didn't push too hard. After they had gotten to know each other, he got up to leave. Making friends without any ulterior motives had to be gradual. Launching an offensive right from the start could easily backfire.

After seeing Black Star off, Taine stared at his back, lost in thought.

What exactly is this guy up to…

…

"Taine seems to be wary of me, not very easy to deal with…"

Back in the legion commander's office, Han Xiao tapped the table rhythmically with his finger, lost in thought.

High-level talents were indeed not easy to befriend, so he still had to cater to their preferences.

Han Xiao nodded secretly. This was his advantage. He knew Taine's hobbies like the back of his hand, all hidden information unearthed by countless player trials and errors in his previous life… He wondered how many bizarre gifts Taine had received over the years.

"He doesn't have high material demands, he only likes specific types of gifts… Hmm, he seems to have a habit of collecting star core specimens? If I remember correctly, he also likes reading mechanical theory books written by advanced mechanics… Sigh, excellent people even have such high-end hobbies."

Han Xiao shook his head. With such niche hobbies, even if he wanted to give a gift, he would have to use a more subtle approach, otherwise it would be easy to reveal his intentions and let others know that he had specifically investigated them, which could backfire.

"But mechanical theory books…" Han Xiao's heart stirred. "I'm a Super-A grade mechanic, maybe he'll bring it up himself."

Putting the matter aside for the time being, Han Xiao called back Nero, who was being led around the headquarters by the Hela sisters, and also summoned Leonard.

Before long, Leonard pushed open the door and entered.

"Legion Commander, you called for me?"

"I have a task for you."

As he spoke, Han Xiao turned his head to look at Nero, who was looking at the aliens with curiosity, and revealed a smile. "Nero, you will follow Leonard to study mechanical theory during this period. I need to go take care of some things. After I'm done, I'll personally guide you."

Nero immediately became anxious, pouting. "You promised to take me to travel the universe…"

The universe was a completely unfamiliar environment to him, and his only reliance was Han Xiao. Hearing that he would be left alone at the legion headquarters, Nero immediately panicked.

This reminded him of his father, Bennett, who repeatedly promised to take him out to play, but always used being busy with work as an excuse, leaving him with disappointment after disappointment. In his young worldview, adults always went back on their word, and he was afraid that Han Xiao would do the same.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely take you to fun places when I get back…" Han Xiao comforted him.

The Central Galaxy was full of powerhouses, and he couldn't be sure what he would encounter. Nero was too fragile, and it would be dangerous for him to follow. It was better to stay at the legion headquarters, where he would be safer with so many executives and allies to take care of him.

Moreover, Nero had just awakened his machinery force and needed to learn a lot of theoretical knowledge—anyway, he had to do homework, so it was the same wherever he did it!

He had also given it some thought before temporarily leaving Nero to be taught by Leonard. When Nero followed Leonard to learn the basics, perhaps the advanced lucky halo could pilfer the guy's perfect mechanical sense… After all, he was a high-level protagonist-type character, anything was possible. It was normal to awaken a specialty postnatally.

"No problem, leave it to me," Leonard nodded.

Han Xiao paused, suddenly remembering something. "By the way, is your sister still in the legion?"

"Huh?" Leonard was stunned. "She's still here, what's wrong?"

It seemed that Loserin hadn't run away with those three idiots yet… Han Xiao rubbed his chin. Only he and Loserin knew about this matter, not even Leonard.

"Then what has she been doing lately? Any unusual behavior?"

"Unusual behavior… I think so." Leonard thought for a moment, then said seriously, "I've noticed that she doesn't seem to go out much lately, she's been holed up in her room, not sure what she's doing. She doesn't come to chat with me anymore. I asked her a few times, and she said she was writing something, but I don't know what it is. Do you need me to help you find out?"

"No need," Han Xiao waved his hand, roughly guessing what Loserin was doing. She was probably starting to write the Silver Revolutionary Army's platform.

Although the goal of this group of founders was only to overthrow the three great cosmic civilizations, giving other civilizations a chance to turn over, helping one ruling class overthrow another, they naturally couldn't use this argument to incite ordinary people. They were self-aware enough to know that. Loserin was originally a spiritual leader, and many slogans and ideas were written by her, imbuing these thoughts with her Thought Propagation ability.

He had no intention of interfering with the birth of the Silver Revolutionary Army, because this was the choice of the times. He couldn't stop the wheel of the entire era alone. To sum it up, this plot could be regarded as the first time since the Age of Exploration that various advanced civilizations had joined forces to challenge the ruling position of the three great cosmic civilizations… No civilization was willing to be ruled forever. When ambition and strength simultaneously reached a limit, the clash between the rising powers and the established hegemonies was inevitable.

So, he might as well sit back and watch the situation unfold, watch the people he knew well rise to power. At least he could seize the initiative, which was better than dealing with strangers.

Putting his thoughts away, Han Xiao casually picked up the disgruntled Nero and sat him on his lap. He then summoned Sylvia and Melos and asked:

"I'm going to the Central Galaxy in a few days. Are the manpower, warships, and resources that I asked you to allocate ready?"

The three nodded in unison.

"Very good," Han Xiao exhaled.

This time, he wasn't going to the Central Galaxy for sightseeing. He had many things to do.

Speaking of which, this was the first time in his life that he was leaving the Shattered Star Ring and heading to another star field.