Chapter 1 At the Same Time

At the same time, Han Xiao, along with Hela and Fording, stealthily escaped the scene, tightly clutching the Evolutionary Cube in his hand, a conflicted expression on his face.

Finding the Evolutionary Cube was completely unexpected. After the initial surprise, Han Xiao gradually calmed down.

The Evolutionary Cube appearing here definitely wasn't Fording's doing; there had to be a deeper reason behind it. An event had occurred somewhere he couldn't see.

The appearance of the Evolutionary Cube eliminated a blind spot of information. Han Xiao's brain raced, re-examining the series of events and deducing the cause and effect.

"The Evolutionary Cube of Sisko appearing in the hands of this group of people means that the Otherworldly Deities somehow stole the universe treasure from Sisko and had their subordinates transport it. No wonder they were silent for several months after killing Harrofall. It turns out their goal wasn't revenge, but to plot for the Evolutionary Cube…"

Han Xiao suddenly understood.

Looks like I misunderstood. This group of people didn't come to deal with me at all. Their goal was to steal the treasure…

But why kill Harrofall? Is it related to stealing the treasure, or is there another purpose?

In his previous life, the first time players knew about the Evolutionary Cube was when it appeared in the hands of the Arcane Church. If it weren't for Austin revealing the secrets, Han Xiao wouldn't have known that the Evolutionary Cube actually belonged to Sisko during this time period. Perhaps this wasn't a secret in high-level circles, but it wouldn't be made public to the masses. The level at which players were at naturally made it difficult to understand this part of the information.

In the later versions of the previous life, players who joined the Arcane Church could pay faction contribution points and Inal to exchange for the opportunity to use the Evolutionary Cube.

The effect of the Evolutionary Cube mainly focused on species sublimation. The specific effect varied from person to person: the weak became stronger, and the strong became even stronger. The first time the Evolutionary Cube was used had the best effect, and it would gradually lose its effect as genes were continuously optimized.

"The Evolutionary Cube went from Sisko to the Arcane Church. I don't know what happened in the middle, but how did the Otherworldly Deities get involved?"

Han Xiao suddenly froze. He remembered that in his previous life, there was information about the Otherworldly Deities causing trouble in the Star Pupil God Race, but it didn't happen during this time period, but during the update period of 3.0 to 4.0. Players didn't experience it personally, only text records, and it didn't mention anything related to the Evolutionary Cube.

"Phillip, search for recent news reports about the Star Pupil God Race."

Han Xiao immediately issued the order.

The reports from Avitan Star were quickly found by Phillip, but due to the government's control of public opinion, the specific process was blurred. It only said that Avitan Star had suffered drastic changes, with heavy casualties, and didn't mention the name of the Otherworldly Deities.

Dozens or hundreds of similar news stories were generated every day in the vast star field. The Avitan Star incident didn't cause much impact in the Shattered Star Ring, and Han Xiao wouldn't specifically pay attention to a small news story that had nothing to do with him.

Han Xiao's thoughts turned, "The Avitan Star incident should be the work of the Otherworldly Deities. They probably used a feint or something to steal the Evolutionary Cube from Sisko."

So, the Otherworldy Deities' attack on the Star Pupil God Race was advanced?

Connecting it with the death of Harrofall, Han Xiao was shocked.

Could it be that the Otherworldly Deities' premature action is related to me? Is this the butterfly effect?

"Too bad, it would have been good to leave a survivor."

Han Xiao felt a little pained. In order to be foolproof, he used all his strength. Who knew the enemies would be so weak that they were killed in seconds? This made it impossible to interrogate them.

Wait…

At this moment, Han Xiao suddenly froze, thinking of his source of intelligence. A new question floated to his mind.

Since the Otherworldly Deities' subordinates were acting secretly and the Star Pupil God Race didn't publicize the theft of the Evolutionary Cube… then the reason for Sedum's surveillance of this group of people was very intriguing.

Perhaps Sedum wasn't after the Terra Civilization's reward, but for the Evolutionary Cube in their hands?!

Han Xiao frowned and thought of three possibilities.

First, Sedum had special intelligence channels and learned of the whereabouts of the Evolutionary Cube, so he wanted to take it himself.

Second, the Machinery Country learned about this and wanted to reap the benefits, so he ordered Sedum, who was stationed in the Shattered Star Ring, to intercept the Evolutionary Cube.

The last possibility was that Sedum was instructed by Sisko to help the Star Pupil God Race retrieve the Evolutionary Cube… No, Sisko might not have told the truth. Sedum only knew to monitor this group of people, but didn't necessarily know the existence of the Evolutionary Cube.

Regardless of which one, Sedum was a competitor, and the last situation was the worst, meaning Sisko was on his way, and he might have to face a true Super A-grade.

Han Xiao looked at the Evolutionary Cube in his hand, his eyes solemn.

He wasn't unfamiliar with the Evolutionary Cube, at least he knew that the prototype of the Evolutionary Cube was incredibly huge, and the one in his hand was obviously the complete portable Evolutionary Cube.

"Austin said he hadn't seen the appearance of the Evolutionary Cube. During this time period, Sisko didn't publicly display the Evolutionary Cube like the Arcane Church, so there should be very few people who know about it. Sedum might not recognize it…"

Just then, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something, his face changed slightly, and he hurriedly contacted Aurora on the spaceship.

"What's the situation at the ground port?"

Aurora was surprised. "Uncle, how did you know something happened here? Just now, all the ground ports issued a notice, saying that someone attacked the city, so the take-off channels are temporarily closed, and departure control is implemented. All spaceships are not allowed to leave Maixibo Star until they catch the perpetrator."

As expected!

Han Xiao squeezed his fingers.

As soon as he killed the Otherworldy Deities' subordinates, Sedum closed off the entire planet and didn't allow anyone to leave.

Such a big move wasn't just to capture the "perpetrator who attacked the city," but also to keep the Evolutionary Cube on the planet.

But this raised a new question—he had concealed his tracks, making it impossible for Sedum to pursue him. If he steadily lurked on Maixibo Star, how long would it take Sedum to find the Evolutionary Cube? There were so many people on Maixibo Star, the difficulty was like finding a needle in a haystack. Without corresponding detection methods, closing off the planet would be futile.

"So Sedum must have mastered the means of locating the Evolutionary Cube, perhaps some kind of detection instrument. As long as you get close to the Evolutionary Cube, you can detect its location… it may also be Sisko's detection methods. The accuracy of the detection should be limited, otherwise I would have already been located by Sedum."

Han Xiao thought to himself.

Although he didn't personally experience the whole process, he had roughly deduced the situation based on the clues of the Evolutionary Cube, and his thoughts suddenly became clear.

With this in mind, Han Xiao stopped the two of them.

Originally, Han Xiao wanted to leave Maixibo Star immediately after killing Olosen, but before returning to the spaceship, Sedum implemented air traffic control. Now that he wanted to leave, he could only forcefully break through the fleet's defense line, so he wasn't in a hurry to return to the port. He simply thought about how to deal with the unexpectedly obtained Evolutionary Cube.

Han Xiao first summarized his situation:

Obtaining the Evolutionary Cube was equivalent to facing Sedum, whose intentions were unclear, Sisko, whose home had been robbed, the Otherworldy Deities who were plotting for the Cube, and four forces like the Arcane Church.

It meant at least two Super A-grades and a cosmic civilization were looking for trouble!

Han Xiao took a breath, recognizing a fact—the Evolutionary Cube was a hot potato!

It was both a surprise and a risk!

Therefore, the handling of the Evolutionary Cube must be cautious.

Han Xiao became serious and quickly calculated the pros and cons in his mind:

"There are only two ways to deal with it: hide it or hand it over."

"If I want to keep the Evolutionary Cube… um, I'm not far from the Super A-grade, and I'm qualified to occupy a universe treasure, but the consequence is to be an enemy of Sisko. The Otherworldy Deities will also target me in order to **** the Cube. I am now at odds with the Tyrant. If Sisko joins hands with the Tyrant because of this… the situation is not good."

"And the benefit of staying is that it is a rare commodity that can be used to strengthen the Black Star Army and its troops, and can also attract a large number of forces. There should be no civilization that can refuse the temptation of the Evolutionary Cube… Sisko does not do this because the Arcane Church and him monopolize the right to use the Evolutionary Cube and do not want to use the Evolutionary Cube to cultivate competitors."

Han Xiao nodded secretly. Sedum blocked the planet, but he couldn't stop him from taking the Evolutionary Cube away. Even if he didn't force a breakthrough, he could quietly take things away from Maixibo Star with the void dimension jump.

As long as Sedum can't find the Cube, he will lift the control sooner or later, and Hela and the three can escape from the ship in a dignified manner.

The problem is, if he keeps the Evolutionary Cube, he can't hide it from these forces, and the Black Star Army will become the target of public criticism.

Han Xiao pondered, "If you hand it over, it's just a matter of who to give it to… In fact, I don't have many choices at the moment, it's nothing more than the Otherworldy Deities, Machinery Country, cosmic civilization, and Sisko."

Giving it to the Otherworldy Deities is to turn enemies into friends with this guy, but if things are revealed, it will be at odds with the three major cosmic civilizations and many forces. Overall, the risk is too great, and the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.

And giving it to Machinery Country is a wonderful move, just to negotiate with Sedum on Maixibo Star, and immediately throw the hot potato of the Evolutionary Cube to others, in exchange for a lot of resources, so that you can get rid of the risk, stay out of the matter, and get out of the vortex of struggle.

Giving it to the cosmic civilization can make them a staunch ally. The result of giving it to anyone is different. Giving it to the Glorious Federation can exchange it for a lot of resources; giving it to the Crimson Empire can get a ticket to the Flickering World while getting resources.

But giving it to these two, the Arcane Church, which regards the Evolutionary Cube as its own, will inevitably become hostile to itself.

If it is handed over to the Arcane Church, the situation will be a little more complicated. Sisko is already half an ally of the Arcane Church. The Arcane Church may not abandon Sisko in favor of him. If the Arcane Church does not stand up for Sisko, it may lose a Super A-grade ally.

But he will also become a Super A-grade, and the Arcane Church may not use tough methods to **** the Evolutionary Cube. Then the final result may be that after he hands over the Evolutionary Cube, the Arcane Church will return it to Sisko and continue to maintain the borrowing agreement. In this way, not only Sisko is protected, but he also becomes an ally of the Arcane Church, and the Evolutionary Cube can still be used…

Sisko will be grateful to the Arcane Church, but he will not like himself, or even become hostile.

Of course, the Arcane Church is a big business and is not afraid of angering Sisko. It is also possible that it will laugh and accept the Evolutionary Cube.

The last choice is to return the object to its original owner and calm things down, returning the Evolutionary Cube to Sisko, which will undoubtedly reap Sisko's friendship, communicate with each other, and he may be able to obtain the right to borrow the Evolutionary Cube like the Arcane Church, a long-term solution.

"Black Star, where are we going now? Aren't you going back to the ship?"

Just as Han Xiao was weighing the pros and cons, Fording couldn't help but ask.

Han Xiao came back to his senses, thought for a while, and shook his head, "I'm not going, Hela, bring Aurora back."

The Cornerstone Group cannot go back. Sedum's first suspicion must be himself, the unknown Calamity Grade Mechanic. Since going back will be suspected, and disappearing will also be suspected, there is no need to go back to acting.

Anyway, I did it all, and I, Barn, am not afraid of shadows!

Han Xiao temporarily put down the tangle.

He is used to planning ahead and first considering the possible consequences, but no matter what, at this moment, the Evolutionary Cube belongs to him alone.

Enjoy it first!

…

"Your Excellency Sisko, I have blocked the planet's ports."

On the other side, Sedum was communicating with Sisko.

"Don't let anyone go before I arrive." Sisko said lightly.

"Okay… but please hurry up, I can't keep the planet blocked."

Sedum looked helpless. Fortunately, he had the excuse of arresting troublemakers to maintain law and order. It was okay to block it for a few days, but blocking it for too long would negatively affect the business of Maixibo Star, which he couldn't accept.

"Thank you for your hard work, I'll be there soon." Sisko nodded.

"Hey, what should I do now?"

"You don't need to do anything else, just make sure no one leaves Maixibo Star. If someone tries to leave forcibly, you can stop them." Sisko said slowly.

In his perception, the Evolutionary Cube was still on Maixibo Star, but because the distance was too far, it was impossible to pinpoint the location. So when Sedum told him that the Otherworldy Deities' subordinates had been killed, Sisko was slightly taken aback before regaining his composure.

As long as the thing is still on Maixibo Star, he will be able to find the location of the Evolutionary Cube once he arrives in person.