Chapter 146 Aftermath

A day later.

A teardrop-shaped small spaceship entered the desolate cosmic belt outside the star field from the direction of Maxibel Star. Its appearance was peculiar, like a semi-transparent azure blue bubble with no metallic texture. This ship was none other than Sisko's ride.

Sisko maintained his psychic power. His white beard fluttered despite the lack of wind. In his perception, the Evolutionary Cube's coordinates were still moving in the desolate cosmic belt. Given the difference in their speeds, he would catch up to the target in another dozen hours.

"I wonder who intercepted my Evolutionary Cube..."

More than ten hours ago, the coordinates of the Evolutionary Cube had paused for a while, and during that time, Sedum lost contact. Sisko initiated more than a dozen communication requests, all without response.

Clearly, Sedum had encountered the target and was ultimately defeated.

Sisko was becoming increasingly interested in this mysterious intruder. First, the target could deal with Sedum, indicating that they possessed combat power at the upper Calamity Grade level, demonstrating formidable strength. Second, their origin was mysterious. The target suddenly intruded, snatched the item, and ran, proving that they had an intelligence channel that knew the appearance of the Evolutionary Cube after it was shrunk.

Based on these two points, Sisko believed that this intruder might be a receiver for the Otherworldy Deities, or a third-party force that learned about the Otherworldy Deities' operation plan through secret channels and intended to seize it, or an accidental speculator who discovered the opportunity through some kind of precognitive ability. He felt the latter two possibilities were the most likely.

"Since they defeated Sedum, they should have been able to extract the information that I'm chasing from behind. Yet, they are still running away... Knowing that the Evolutionary Cube is mine, they still don't intend to return it to me, wanting to continue to monopolize it? Could it be that they think they can侥幸(jiao xing - get lucky) survive in my hands?"

Sisko couldn't help but shake his head, giving the intruder a simple definition in his mind:

Another greedy person who values money over their life!

This person is simply audacious. Do they not know the power of a Beyond Grade A?

Faced with the pursuit of a Beyond Grade A, they still dare to妄想 (wang xiang - indulge in fantasy) swallow the Evolutionary Cube?!

Among the four Beyond Grade A bosses in the Shattered Star Ring, only he and the Dragon Emperor are the most low-profile. Could it be that this guy thinks he is easy to bully because of this?

As the leader of a galactic civilization, managing a vast territory, Sisko had seen countless bizarre people, but rarely had he seen such an inflated character.

Sisko wouldn't get angry because he was looked down upon. As a leader of a civilization who discusses matters with great scholars and has no contact with commoners, he had long cultivated a calm aura. He just found it a little funny.

It had been a very, very long time since anyone had looked down on him.

Sisko's thoughts drifted away, and distant memories were stirred up. He still remembered that the most profound humiliation in his memory was something that happened hundreds of years ago.

At that time, the Beyond Grade As of the Shattered Star Ring were not the current group. He was still a youth, following the family consortium to operate industries on the homeworld of a star cluster-level civilization, but because of his race, he was constantly despised and deliberately made things difficult by those arrogant citizens of the star cluster-level civilization.

This was not humiliation aimed at him personally, but the contempt of an advanced civilization for a backward civilization, which made him feel even more ashamed than when others humiliated him. It despised the bloodline he was proud of and stung the most fundamental dignity of a race.

To this day, Sisko still uses this experience to spur himself on. That star cluster-level civilization is now watching the rise of the Star Pupil Divine Race but can only swallow their anger because of the existence of the Virtual Mutiny Organization.

If he hadn't accidentally obtained the Evolutionary Cube in that ruin, the Star Pupil Divine Race would not have its current glory.

Sisko put away his distracting thoughts, his eyes firm.

The Evolutionary Cube must be taken back!

Only in this way can his race continue to receive the support of the Virtual Mutiny Organization!

...

Central Star Sea Area, Starfall Abyss, Glorious Federation Homeworld, Supreme Tribunal.

This was a circular platform, with dozens of holographic virtual human figures suspended in the air above the platform, divided into two distinct factions, sitting opposite each other. One side was the Elder Delegation of the Glorious Federation's Tribunal Council, and the other was the Imperial Envoy Delegation led by the Red Empire's Diplomatic Ambassador.

The two sides had been holding meetings for two consecutive days. In the past ten years, similar meetings had been held nearly a hundred times, arguing endlessly over the same issue, but there had never been any conclusive results.

But this time was different.

"Then, on behalf of the Glorious Federation, I announce that this resolution enters the final adjudication procedure. The meeting is adjourned." The leader of the Glorious Federation Tribunal Elder Delegation finalized the final plan, bringing this ten-year-long agenda to a partial conclusion.

The Red Empire's Diplomatic Ambassador nodded calmly, without smiling.

Involving the ownership of a large star field in the future, the two sides had been arguing for ten years. Diplomatic means were only auxiliary negotiation methods, and the real source of bargaining chips was the countless military demonstrations, displays of force, resource inducements, political pressures, and Beyond Grade A deterrents in the past ten years.

Having single-handedly started the Crimson Tide that swept across more than a dozen star fields for a full ten years, the Red Empire finally reaped the rewards today, reaching terms that both sides were satisfied with, allowing the Glorious Federation to compromise and concede.

At this moment, the leader of the Glorious Federation Tribunal Elder Delegation suddenly spoke.

"What name does your Red Empire intend to give to that newly explored star field?"

Hearing this, the Red Empire's Diplomatic Ambassador replied with an arrogant tone.

"We already have a name. This new star field, which is about to be incorporated into the Empire's territory, will be called—the Glimmering World!"

...

Shattered Star Ring, Colton Star Cluster, Western Wind Star System, Secret War Frontline.

Inside the huge Amethyst Satellite Fortress, the Zero Organization Allied Forces, who had just finished a bloody battle, were resting. Damaged warships were sent to military factories for emergency repairs. Warriors from various forces seized the time to rest, enjoying the assistance of their respective logistics units.

The Black Star Army warriors returned to the exclusive supply stations of the army stationed in the fortress. The benefits and treatment were significantly better than those of other forces. NPCs and players mixed together, receiving resources and repairing equipment at the supply station.

The fortress was crowded, like a cafeteria at lunchtime.

Kuáng Dāo Nù Jiàn (Furious Blade), Hàotiān, and his party squeezed into the line, sent their equipment in for repair, and then squeezed out with great difficulty. They didn't know who punched them a few times in the line, squeezing them to the point where they even lost a small amount of health.

"What are you guys planning to do later?" Kuáng Dāo Nù Jiàn turned his head and asked.

"The knowledge in the Faction Store has been discounted recently. I'm going to learn a few." Fēng Yuè said.

Hàotiān nodded, indicating that he was the same.

Kuáng Dāo then looked at Ròu Bāo, only to find that Ròu Bāo looked listless and dejected. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's wrong with you? Why are you so depressed?"

Ròu Bāo sighed, "We've been fighting on the Secret War frontline for so long, and the mission rating has gone up several levels, but why hasn't Black Star come to participate in the war in the past few months? I'm lacking material."

Hearing this, Fēng Yuè also became tangled, "That's right. The war situation is so intense, and the advanced combat power of the Warfare Domain has been too rampant in the past few months. I keep getting killed by AoE attacks. If the corps commander were here..."

Lí Gē suddenly popped his head out from the side, "I think so too."

Where did you pop up from?

Everyone immediately looked sideways at him. Hàotiān pressed Lí Gē back into the crowd.

Kuáng Dāo returned to the topic, "Perhaps this is deliberately letting us do missions. Think about it. If Black Star comes, where would we have so many combat opportunities? We might just watch cutscenes every day."

Ròu Bāo was furious, "What I want is the cutscenes, otherwise, what material will I have!"

The others shook their heads helplessly.

Not only Kuáng Dāo and his party, but countless legion players were also curious.

Black Star, as the leader of the faction, had not participated in the Secret War, and there had been no news of him in the past few months. He seemed to have disappeared.

What exactly did Black Star go to do?

...

"...As I expected, Black Star disappeared for several months and did not participate in the war during this period. Because the Amethyst side lost Black Star's deterrent force, our advanced combat power has achieved good results..."

Heber Star, Warfare Domain Chief of Staff, Jode, was reporting the recent war situation to Hegemon.

The mountain-like Heber sat on the throne, listened silently to Jode's report, propped his chin with his hand, and nodded casually.

Seeing this, Jode's tone was excited, and he continued: "Just now, Klent sent new intelligence. Not long ago, the Red Empire and the Glorious Federation finally reached the final agreement. It will take several months to complete the handover, and then the Red Empire will free up its hands to deal with the problems of various allies. It should take about half a year to deal with the secret war between Klent and Amethyst..."

"Oh?" Heber's tone rose.

"This means that the Secret War only has half a year left, which is earlier than we estimated." Jode was very excited. "We still occupy the border star systems of Western Wind, Kaya, Charda, etc. In half a year, Amethyst will be unable to recover. Hegemon, we have already won. The overall situation has been set!"

"...Not bad."

Heber nodded slowly, thought for a while, and suddenly asked, "What's the situation with Black Star?"

"He disappeared for several months after I plotted against him. I don't know where he is at this time." Jode touched his chin and pondered, "However, he also has channels to know the information that the Red Empire and the Glorious Federation have successfully negotiated. I think he should be arranging a way out now."

"Arranging a way out?"

"Yes, Black Star must also know his situation. He needs to think about the aftermath of the war. He understands that he is definitely not your opponent. I think that in order to save his life, he may temporarily escape from the Shattered Star Ring."

Heber shook his head, "He is not that kind of timid coward... Well, maybe he will ask the Dragon Emperor or the Amethyst Civilization to stop me."

Jode nodded.

"In any case, after killing so many of my men, I can't let people think that they don't have to pay the price." Heber said slowly, "Klent got what they wanted, and I also need an object to establish my prestige."

...

Arcane Sanctum, Caster's Palace.

In the main hall, Austin sat in the air, lecturing on magic theory, surrounded by mages of various races, listening carefully to the Caster's teachings.

"...So, according to the errors in the third, seventh, and nineteenth ring circuits, it can be judged that the thirteenth revised version of the circuit cornerstone theory proposed by the Beyond Grade A powerhouse 'Holy Art' Mapeiltiber hundreds of years ago has flaws. Alright, that's all for today."

Many mages saluted and filed out. Soon, the main hall became empty, leaving only Austin alone.

Austin exhaled, raised his hand, took out the communicator from the subspace magic pocket, and checked the backlog of information.

"Why are there only celebrity gossip? Hiss, this female celebrity is a little good-looking, what's her n... cough cough, well, the situation in the Old Star River is still grim, umm, more than a dozen civilization ruins have been excavated in the Ancient Star Desert, alas, it's really heartbreaking... Huh, the Red Empire and the Glorious Federation successfully negotiated?"

Austin was stunned when he saw this piece of information, and the scene of reminding Hán Xiāo a few months ago when the secret war situation surfaced in his mind.

Putting down the communicator, Austin rubbed his smooth chin with his pocket-sized hand.

"The Secret War is coming to an end, and the good show is finally about to begin. I don't know which choice Black Star has made. I hope I won't be disappointed..."

...

Outside the Shattered Star Ring, Desolate Cosmic Belt.

Hán Xiāo landed with Sedum on a desolate planet. This was an extremely hot planet, the earth cracked, revealing scorching flames in the gaps, lava flowed on the surface, and volcanoes erupted at all times. The surface accumulated a large number of lava lakes and lava rivers.

"Let's choose here." Hán Xiāo nodded secretly.

A day had passed since he captured Sedum. He had extracted the intelligence from Sedum's mouth, confirming the guess that Sisko could locate the Evolutionary Cube.

So Hán Xiāo decided to actively choose the battlefield, conserve energy, and meet the approaching Sisko.

Phillip inventoried Sedum's troops. The two sides lost hundreds of thousands of mechanical soldiers in the battle, and more than two million troops were seized. Overall, he made a lot of money, which increased Hán Xiāo's confidence.

Of course, his greatest confidence was not these mechanical troops.

Just a few hours ago, the experience provided by the players finally filled the level 240 experience bar!

Landing on this planet was to complete his long-awaited level 240 advancement.

Hán Xiāo suppressed his excitement, turned his head and ordered the mechanical troops escorting Sedum.

"You control him, don't let him run around."

"Yes." Battle-specific AI, Sparta, replied coldly, controlling a large number of mechanical troops, the muzzles all aimed at Sedum, and would fire as soon as there was any change.

"Ugh ugh ugh ugh—"

Sedum was bound by electromagnetic chains all over his body, even his mouth was sealed. The superpower genes in his body were temporarily drained by Hán Xiāo. At this time, he was extremely weak, unable to move, and could only make a weak howl of protest from his throat, which was obviously ineffective.

Leaving Sedum behind, Hán Xiāo flew away alone, crossing thousands of kilometers, and randomly drilled into a crevice in the ground.

He put away his mechanical suit, and directly traveled through the lava with his physical body. With the blessing of the talent of [Cosmic Environment Adaptability], he was able to resist various harsh environments. The high temperature of thousands of degrees was no different from bathwater to him... it might even be considered a cold shower.

"I wonder when I can reach the level of bathing in stars like Hegemon... No, why should I, a Mechanic, compare myself to a Martial Artist?"

Soon, Hán Xiāo passed through the underground lava river, went deep into the ground for thousands of meters, and flew into an underground cavern.

"This place should be private enough, and energy fluctuations are difficult to conduct out."

Hán Xiāo was quite satisfied with this place.

Looking down at his sturdy body, the rune array tattoo drawn by Raki made his flesh look as exquisite as a work of art.

"Tsk tsk, it's so beautiful... Alas, I used the Evolutionary Cube. I don't know if I will turn into a monster like Sisko after being promoted to Beyond Grade A."

Hán Xiāo took off the Evolutionary Cube, slapped it into the wall, then rubbed his hands and opened the panel.

"...Come on!"

Taking a deep breath, Hán Xiāo looked solemn and invested all his experience in upgrading.

Straight to level 240!

...

Dragon Tomb Floating Island, Main Island, Dragon Emperor's Palace.

The long black skirt trailed on the ground, like a black peacock laying down its tail feathers. Ames walked in the corridor of the palace with her white python-like long legs. Isora and Weierna accompanied her.

"Have you not found them yet?" Ames's tone was unkind.

"No..." Weierna looked timid.

"That bastard Black Star, where did he abduct my apprentices to!" Ames was very angry.

Hela and Aurora came out of the mountain a few months ago. She originally planned to secretly send people to protect them, but in the past few months, Black Star and the Hela sisters disappeared together, and they couldn't find anyone at all.

"You are just concerned and messed up. There is no need to worry at all. Black Star will not harm them."

Isora looked helpless, imitating me in teaching apprentices is fine, at least learn my open-mindedness, freedom and irresponsibility as well. How did you become a disciple-con, you weren't like this before.

"Hmm? You think I'm an irresponsible teacher like you?" Ames raised her eyebrows and said quietly.

What a big resentment... Isora wiped his cold sweat.

"Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, if you want to know the whereabouts of the Hela sisters, wouldn't it be better for me to ask Black Star directly?" Weierna couldn't help but complain.

Ames glared at her, "What would I do with your troop if I asked Black Star for everything?"

Weierna was speechless and could only lower her head.

Black Star built it... Isora shook his head helplessly, but he agreed with Ames's attitude. Dragon Tomb still needs to cultivate its own intelligence channels, after all, Black Star may leave one day.

Just then, Isora paused and suddenly stopped.

Ames and Weierna walked out several steps before realizing that Isora was lagging behind. The two looked back suspiciously, but were stunned to find that Isora closed his eyes in place with a frown.

"What did you foresee again?" Ames was a little curious. Isora's ability would occasionally trigger automatically, bringing him some precognitive enlightenment.

Isora suddenly opened his eyes, his face full of unspeakable shock, his tone full of surprise.

"The fifth Beyond Grade A in the Shattered Star Ring... has been born!"

————

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