Chapter 1 War Domain

Broken Star Ring, War Domain.

"…That's the situation. In a short period, we've gained a significant number of business channels. Conservatively speaking, our revenue this year will increase by more than double."

In the palace, Jod was excitedly reading the report.

A tall, burly figure stood by the window, the Milky Way reflecting in Heber's eyes, tinged with deep emotion, silently listening to the report.

Jod continued to read, "The Black Star Army completed its transformation years ago, diversifying its business. We don't have the Evolution Cube, and although we have Klent's support, our transformation has been slow, limited by the nature of a war mercenary organization. Seventy to eighty percent of our funds rely on armed mercenary services, and high troop maintenance costs drag down our cash flow. Now, joining forces with the Endless Financial Group is a powerful alliance. They've been a great help in our transformation, and we're gradually taking shape."

Both the Black Star Army and the War Domain were Super A-level forces in this star field, with different management directions. Under Han Xiao's leadership, the Black Star Army used the Evolution Cube to complete the transformation from an armed organization to a diversified organization, with both force and financial resources. The War Domain, as the name suggests, was a model of military extravagance, and the channels for monetizing influence were quite limited, which had always been a problem for the War Domain.

The help of the Endless Financial Group had relieved Heber of this worry. As long as this trend continued, the War Domain would no longer be a group of reckless men who only liked to fight, and would be able to truly compete with the Black Star Army for the position of the leading private organization in the Broken Star Ring.

"Well done," Heber said, turning around.

Jod hesitated and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Your Excellency Tyrant, what exactly did you agree with the Endless Financial Group? Why are they helping us so wholeheartedly?"

"Just mutually beneficial cooperation," Heber glanced at him. "They want to enter the Broken Star Ring and use our influence to better penetrate the local market. Hmph, although their target is the Black Star Army's partners, we are also a Super A-level force. Joining us won't diminish the reputation of these enterprises either."

These were the superficial reasons, and Heber didn't plan to tell his subordinates about the deeper transactions.

Jod's eyes darted around. Heber didn't say it explicitly, but he vaguely guessed that the reason wasn't that simple. The Endless Financial Group didn't seek cooperation with Black Star, but instead sought them as a second choice, which clearly targeted the Black Star Army.

The possibilities behind it made him break out in a cold sweat just thinking about it, and Jod didn't dare to ask further. He still wanted to live to see his grandchildren.

Jod wiped his sweat and left the room, leaving only Heber alone. He looked out the window again, and after a long time, a curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He maintained his composure in front of his subordinates, seemingly calm, but in reality, Heber was very happy.

He didn't care whether the Endless Financial Group would succeed, as long as he could take the opportunity to develop. The losses suffered by the Black Star Army were not within his consideration. The two sides were allies of the empire, but they had always been competitors, and he hoped that the Black Star Army would lose more.

…

On the other side, Carrot, who had rejected Han Xiao's recruitment, returned to the Martial Arts Department's freshman dormitory absentmindedly. Several roommates immediately surrounded him, looking curious.

"Hey, what did the principal want from you just now?"

Carrot was relatively honest and his grades were at the bottom, so he was quite popular.

When class ended just now, several roommates saw the principal come to Carrot, and thought he had done something strange, and were now a little concerned.

Carrot scratched his head, "Nothing, just someone wanted to see me."

"Who is it that can get the principal to come to you?"

One handsome roommate looked suspicious. He had the best family background in the entire dormitory, but he was still far from being able to contact the principal of the Empire Superpower Academy. Carrot's family background was very ordinary, which made him feel very surprised.

"He said his name was Black Star, and he wanted me to join the Black Star Army," Carrot said helplessly.

As soon as he finished speaking, the others widened their eyes, looking incredulous.

"The legendary Black Star?!"

"Are you kidding me! Why would he look for you?!"

Seeing his roommates' ghostly expressions, Carrot was a little surprised, "Do you all know him?"

"Oh my god, don't you know who Black Star is?!" One roommate's eyes almost popped out.

"I… I haven't heard of him before," Carrot said embarrassedly, looking curious, "Is he really a big shot?"

"More than a big shot! He's a Super A-level powerhouse, the pinnacle of individual power, someone who can talk and laugh with the Empire's head of state!" One person said excitedly, recounting Han Xiao's history since his rise as if reciting a treasure. He was a true fan.

The others surrounded Carrot and kept asking questions. Carrot explained the process, and it took him a while to make everyone understand that Black Star had nothing to do with his family, but had just taken a fancy to his potential.

The handsome roommate felt uncomfortable in his heart. Why did such an opportunity fall on this bottom-ranked simpleton instead of on him?

At this moment, another roommate suddenly realized something, "You… did you accept Black Star's invitation?"

Facing everyone's staring eyes, Carrot felt a little uncomfortable, "I… I didn't agree."

"You actually rejected the opportunity to join the Black Star Army?!" The others opened their mouths wide, all speechless, looking at him as if he were hopeless, "You're stupid! This is an opportunity to change your destiny. Ordinary people like us don't even have the qualifications to join the Black Star Army. You, you actually…"

Seeing everyone say this, Carrot felt a little confused and began to doubt his choice.

Did I really make the wrong choice?

Maybe I should ask my family.

Carrot looked tangled, took out his communicator, and ran to the side to contact his family. The handsome roommate looked at Carrot's back, a strong sense of resentment and jealousy flashing in his eyes.

Why him? Why him! He got such an opportunity to change his destiny, but he doesn't know how to cherish it. He's just hopelessly stupid. How could that legendary big shot take a fancy to someone like him!

He used to like Carrot quite a bit, and was willing to take care of him, but now, all he felt for Carrot was disgust. He couldn't stand the sight of him.

…

The next day, Han Xiao temporarily put aside the troubles of the Endless Financial Group and continued to enter the academy to observe Carrot, discovering an interesting situation.

After a day of fermentation, yesterday's events had spread throughout Carrot's class. Other freshmen's attitudes toward Carrot had changed. Some actively tried to curry favor, some subtly ostracized him, and some watched coldly.

"Because of my actions yesterday, his entire student career has been rewritten. He can no longer be an invisible person like in his previous life…" Han Xiao shook his head, gaining a greater understanding of his status as a big shot.

Carrot's accumulation period was very long. Being drawn into the storm early, the impact on his growth was unknown, it could be good or bad.

But for now, it was helping him. People who can become Super A-level all have a kind of unyielding resilience in their bones. They will only rise to the challenge. Difficulties can only stimulate their potential. Carrot doesn't know that this kind of trait is lurking in his body. Maybe experiencing fierce competition in the academy will allow Carrot to transform earlier.

"In that case, why not add some more fuel to the fire?" Han Xiao scratched his chin.

After waiting for a while, the end-of-class bell finally rang. The students in the classroom filed out. Han Xiao didn't hide anything and called out to him in public.

"Carrot."

Hearing someone call his name, Carrot stopped and turned around. Seeing that Han Xiao's clothes were the same as yesterday, he recognized Han Xiao and couldn't help being surprised, stuttering, "B-Black Star, it's you again."

His voice wasn't loud, but it seemed to have a magical power. All the students around him stopped, and countless pairs of eager and excited eyes focused on Han Xiao, stirring up excitement and whispering.

"You seem very nervous?" Han Xiao glanced around, ignored the others, and smiled at Carrot. Although the virtual disguise prevented others from seeing his true appearance, it could also express emotions.

"My dad told me to thank you, but he doesn't want me to have too much contact with you," Carrot said nervously.

Han Xiao didn't mind, flicked his finger, and the communicator in Carrot's bag flew into his hand. After operating it a few times, he handed it back to Carrot.

"It's okay, I'll leave my number for you. If you change your mind one day, you can contact me at any time."

Carrot was flattered, and then looked unconfident, "I… I really don't understand, why do you value me so much?"

"I'm just passionate about cultivating more talent."

Han Xiao reached out and touched Carrot's head, taking advantage of him, looking at the ignorant Carrot, and noticing the change in the eyes of the surrounding students, he couldn't help but show a meaningful smile.

Hehe, I'll help you strengthen the protagonist-type character template, you don't have to thank me.

Taking a deep look at Carrot, Han Xiao's figure disappeared without a trace in full view of the public.

The next moment, Han Xiao's figure appeared on a spaceship in outer space, not staying on this planet, and ordering the fleet to set sail.

In the following days, Han Xiao had been active within the territory of the Empire. The high-level officials of the Empire noticed that Han Xiao seemed to be visiting different people all the time. Some were middle and lower-level members of the Empire, and some were ordinary people.

The high-level officials of the Empire understood Han Xiao's plan. Not only was the future of the Empire dependent on Black Star, but Black Star was also laying out the future, considering investing in talents and considering future discourse power.

But what surprised the high-level officials of the Empire was that Han Xiao chose to target some strange people instead of the current high-level officials. What was the reason?

The Empire had investigated every person Han Xiao had visited. Some were indeed extraordinary in their potential, but more targets didn't seem to have much that was special.

The high-level officials of the Empire were very confused. They didn't understand the principles on which Black Star chose his investment targets. It looked too random…

As for Han Xiao, he had been visiting many famous NPCs of the future, which gave him a strange sense of déjà vu, as if he was playing a game called *Star Sea Pokémon*.

Most people, like Carrot, refused to join the Black Star Army, but some potential stocks accepted Han Xiao's invitation, digging up a wave of the Empire's foundation. Of course, the people Han Xiao dug up didn't include future imperial officials who would be in power.

On the Broken Star Ring side, Sylvia followed Han Xiao's instructions and took measures, contacting many of the army's cooperative organizations, using the pressure from the Endless Financial Group to urge these organizations to form an alliance to jointly resist the acquisition plan of the Endless Financial Group.

This method had some success. Some of the army's partners decided to adopt the suggestion and unite to form a loose alliance, which increased the difficulty of the Endless Financial Group's acquisition and curbed the momentum of the acquisition.

But it was only a temporary solution, at most turning the situation into a tug-of-war, and there was still a risk of being defeated one by one.

After all, the army was not a real financial group, and its capital was not as strong as that of the Endless Financial Group. These partners were independent and not subsidiaries of the army. Doing this much in business was the limit for the time being.

It was most important for the partners to hold on by themselves. The army could only start with those cooperative civilizations and provide some preferential policies to curb the relationships forged by the Endless Financial Group's spending power, indirectly helping the enterprises that cooperated with the army.

The only fundamental solution was for the Empire to open up the right to sell Evolutionary Totems. This was not something Han Xiao could decide alone. Since competition was unavoidable, Han Xiao didn't dwell on it too much, silently exercising his strength, waiting until his strength reached the requirements of the advancement mission, and then he would go to find trouble with the Tyrant.

This move couldn't solve the problem, but it could hurt each other.

The only one who could be targeted with force was Heber. It would be useless for him to ask Solo Gin for a spar. He was just a financial group leader, engaged in commercial activities within normal rules. If he used force against him, it would only make the citizens of the universe think that the Black Star Army couldn't afford to lose and was too overbearing. Besides, Solo Gin didn't need prestige at all. Han Xiao could imagine Solo Gin directly admitting defeat in one hundred and eight different ways.

But Heber was different. As an ally of the Empire, he was helping the enemy to drag him down. There was no psychological barrier to beating him up. This guy valued face, and deterrence was very important to him. He couldn't admit defeat and avoid a spar. He would grit his teeth and fight him, which was just right. He could repay the hatred he had for bullying him when he first entered Super A-level.

As the owner of the Evolution Cube, Han Xiao's every move affected the nerves of the major forces. His aimless wandering within the Empire was also noticed by all parties. They all knew that he was avoiding the limelight, and no one wanted to disturb him.

But some people had different ideas.

…

Within the Red Empire, Radbudol Star.

This was a colony planet of a star system-level affiliated civilization. Due to the behind-the-scenes interference of cosmic-level civilizations, most of the affiliated civilizations in the central Star Sea adopted loose and backward political systems. This civilization was no exception—the colony star was governed by local lords. Unless there was an emergency, the lord was not appointed by the central government, but was elected locally, semi-independent from the central government, equivalent to a local official of an independent duchy.

This backward political system was not conducive to the unity of power in civilization, and that was precisely the reason for its existence.

The position of lord of Radbudol Star had always been held by several prominent families, taking turns to become the planet's lord, like a family-based party.

Although there were elections, according to ancient agreements, it was just a show. The families that actually held power had already discussed it behind the scenes.

This year was the election year for Radbudol Star, but unlike previous years, this time a young entrepreneur born here returned to participate in the election, named Intrepis. Originally, outsiders like him would be suppressed by the joint efforts of several families, all kinds of smear campaigns, and could only play soy sauce in the election.

However, in this election, the citizens of Radbudol Star seemed to be tired of the political game of rotating power among several families, and were eager for a new face, so they voted for outsiders one after another. Intrepis had the highest voice. First, he was a local, and second, he was a well-known entrepreneur in this civilization. According to the election trend, he was currently the most likely candidate to be elected as the local lord.

"We hope you can withdraw from the election."

In the top floor suite of the tallest building in the world, envoys from several families placed a communicator with a transfer interface on the table, with the screen facing Intrepis on the sofa opposite.

"What does this mean?" Intrepis frowned.

"Name your price."

"I don't lack money."

"Are you really going to block our path?"

Intrepis said in a deep voice, "I'm just running for election according to the rules of the game. This is the meaning of the election."

The envoys from several families looked at each other, put away the communicator, stood up and pretended to leave. One of them glanced at Intrepis coldly and said lightly:

"You have made a wrong choice."

These family envoys left the suite, and Intrepis finally breathed a long sigh of relief. His back was already covered in cold sweat. After sitting in silence for a while, a bitter smile appeared on his face.

At this time, a young woman wearing a secretary uniform and gold-rimmed glasses walked in and stood in front of Intrepis, looking worried:

"They won't let you go easily."

"I know." Intrepis waved his hand and murmured, "If negotiations fail, they will definitely take violent means. The lightest result is to kidnap me, smear me with tricks, and more seriously… they won't let me live until the end of the election."

"I have hired more interstellar mercenaries as bodyguards, and they will definitely protect your safety."

"Mercenaries… People who can be bought with money cannot be trusted."

"…Brother, if it really doesn't work, give up the election. Life is more important than anything else."

This female secretary was not an ordinary employee, but Intrepis's relative.

"No, some things must be done by someone." Intrepis shook his head.

The female secretary looked complicated, with a faint admiration in her eyes. She had always admired Intrepis, not only because he was very resourceful, but also because he had the courage and feelings that ordinary people did not have.

The two were silent for a while, and Intrepis suddenly thought of something, and his eyes lit up.

"By the way, I heard that the big shot Black Star is traveling within the Empire. The last location he appeared was not far from Radbudol Star?"

"Uh, it seems so."

Hearing this, Intrepis pondered for a while, and his eyes suddenly narrowed, flashing a gleam of light.

"I have a bold idea, maybe… I can take advantage of Black Star!"