Chapter 1 A New Start

The pitch-black and profound space of the universe resembled a curtain adorned with starlight diamonds. A silver-white planet silently rotated within it. Its surface was constructed of metal, with angular mechanical towers rising up, connected by aerial passages, forming matrix-like patterns. The rigorous layout revealed an exquisite mechanical beauty.

This was Han Xiao's new main star of his Mechanical Life civilization, located within the Super Star Cluster territory. It was entirely manufactured by mechanical life. The planet's volume was extremely large, incorporating the matter of several planets, and the former Apostle Planet was also broken down and integrated into this planet.

Originally, You Zu and other Mechanical Divine Emissaries wanted to name this new main star Black Star, to show their respect for the Main God Black Star, but this was firmly rejected by Han Xiao. In the end, You Zu and the other divine emissaries changed their minds and named the planet Saint Apostle Star.

On the bustling alloy avenue, mechanical life of all sizes and shapes bustled about. Some people made a clanging sound as their feet collided with the ground, some made a hissing sound as their tires rubbed against the ground, some had engines whose cylinders rumbled constantly, and some had exhaust pipes that occasionally spurted out gas, forming a unique tune with a strong mechanical feel.

Han Xiao walked among the mechanical crowd, his entire body covered with a camouflage coating. His appearance looked like an ordinary mechanical life, and all the mechanical life that approached could not detect his presence.

"This place is getting more and more prosperous..."

Han Xiao was secretly pleased.

After taking in the World Tree, he no longer needed the Mechanical Civilization to produce mechanical soldiers around the clock, so he stopped the bottom-level order to mass-produce soldiers and allowed the Mechanical Civilization to reproduce and develop on its own. This was the first time he had carefully observed the changes in the Mechanical Civilization after the war.

Han Xiao's walking speed was not fast, as if he was taking a slow stroll, his eyes constantly looking left and right, observing the mechanical crowd on the street.

Although mechanical life was produced in batches, and many people should have the same model, it was almost impossible to see any two completely identical mechanical lifeforms on the street. Even mechanical lifeforms of the same model had added various personalized structures to themselves through self-modification, and they were also equipped with colorful paint. Some liked guns and cannons, some liked blades, some liked heavy armor, some liked to run naked... From the perspective of a normal life, this was like the difference in clothing, hairstyle, makeup, and accessories.

In the shops on the street, Han Xiao also saw all kinds of goods. The most common were modification shops and parts stores, with a wide variety of mechanical parts of various models, as well as different colors of paint. The customer traffic was huge, and mechanical life came in and out all the time, constantly "trying on clothes".

In addition, he also saw special snack shops, where chef robots cooked items such as engine oil, lubricating maintenance gel, and energy blocks, stirring and boiling them vigorously in large pots to make all kinds of strange-shaped foods. Han Xiao took a piece and tasted it, and it was so bad that he almost lost his composure.

However, the other mechanical lifeforms who came to buy them left with satisfaction, eating with gusto, but in their eyes it was a rare delicacy. There were also a few mechanical lifeforms who were like couples or partners feeding each other, all lovey-dovey.

Han Xiao also saw sensory stimulation shops, which were entertainment venues for mechanical life. Inside, they connected to devices that directly simulated various senses and emotions, bringing a strong sense of stimulation to the intelligent core. By paying a large fee, they could also directly update and upgrade their own emotional modules through the shop's mainframe.

In a nearby alley, Han Xiao also saw several small robots graffitiing on the alloy wall. When they saw someone coming, they quickly scattered and flew away along the wall on electromagnetic wheels, like a group of rebellious street teenagers. The graffiti on the wall was extremely wild, filled with a large number of distorted and bright colors, and the outline vaguely showed the image of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate.

In the mechanical group, which should have been cold and precise, there was a strong sense of personalization, and a culture of freedom was popular. Han Xiao clearly saw a sense of life from a group of mechanical bodies.

"Mechanical life's life is quite something..."

Han Xiao smiled.

He had always mainly regarded mechanical civilization as an arms factory, and had not paid much attention to the changes in the lives of mechanical civilization. It was not until he allowed mechanical civilization to reproduce freely that he paid attention to the cultural trends that were emerging.

As the creator, he could guide the cultural direction of mechanical civilization, but he did not do so, but let it form naturally.

Until now, he felt that mechanical civilization had a bit of the appearance of "civilization".

As he walked, Han Xiao realized that he had come to a giant mechanical square. In the center of the square stood two statues, both of himself, one of himself in a normal state, and the other of the mecha in the Supreme Heavenly Venerate state.

The mechanical life in the square was constantly flowing. No one deliberately worshiped the statues. At most, they would occasionally stop and look up for a while, and then walk away and continue their lives... Their admiration for Han Xiao was no longer a rigid formality, but was placed in their "hearts".

Han Xiao came to the foot of the statue and stopped to look up. Suddenly, the corner of his eye caught a glimpse of a tall mechanical lifeform walking past with a small mechanical body of a similar model on its back.

He turned his head to look, and it seemed to be a happy father and son. The father let the child ride on his neck and kept teasing him.

Han Xiao silently watched this scene, and the scenes of the mechanical civilization following him in the North and South Wars for the past few decades flashed through his mind. Countless mechanical lifeforms walked onto the battlefield under his orders and were used as cannon fodder. Countless unique sparks of consciousness born in the chip circuits disappeared into the cold universe along with the broken mechanical bodies.

Although he regarded mechanical life as tools, due to the limitations of the underlying logic, they had no complaints, silently buried their hobbies and interests, and risked their lives to fight for him, still respecting him as the "creator".

"I won't need you to risk your lives for me in the future. Enjoy your new life..."

Han Xiao shook his head gently. He would not cancel the underlying logic of the mechanical civilization's respect for him, but he did not intend to direct the mechanical civilization to fight again. He had already mastered the World Tree and \[Virtual Genesis · True], and no longer needed these mechanical lifeforms to work for him.

He took one last look at his statue, his mind filled with memories, and felt that another information anchor point had been set down. Then he turned around and disappeared into the lively mechanical crowd.

...

In the Super Star Cluster territory, the new headquarters of the Black Star Army.

Han Xiao strolled through the base, concealing himself, and no one noticed his presence.

The huge base was very lively, and countless members of the Black Star Army were working here, with people coming and going. From time to time, people chatted and laughed as they brushed past Han Xiao.

He slowly strolled around and came to the area where the higher-ups were active. He saw Melos working at his desk, Sivier still working hard to break through to Beyond Grade A, Aroshia staring blankly at the starry sky outside the window, Laki slacking off, and Leonard maintaining the operation of the logistics department as he had done for decades...

Looking at the current state of the Black Star Army's great success, Han Xiao felt a little dazed, and the difficult memories of the early days of starting his business surfaced.

He remembered that he had just entered the interstellar world at that time, and was still a "bumpkin" from a surface civilization, penniless, and his only reliance was the guns in his hands.

These old partners had followed him to lay the foundation for today's business, and had grown from a third-rate mercenary group to what it is today.

Everything seemed like it was just yesterday, and the memories were still vivid. The images of Melos, Aroshia, Sivier and others following him as mercenaries flashed through his mind. At that time, everyone was very inexperienced and fought desperately. Now, nearly a hundred years have passed, and everyone has become a big shot in the interstellar world. They no longer need to do everything themselves and have already achieved success and fame, and have different lives.

Looking back, Han Xiao couldn't help but sigh at the passage of time. Including himself, everyone had changed more or less from what they were at the beginning, and maybe they all missed their original selves more... The beginning is always the freshest, and afterwards they will always get tired of each other. As the business progresses, views change, which makes him inexplicably feel the regret of "if only life could be like the first time we met".

However, while lamenting, he still preferred the spiral upward trend of things, allowing the road ahead to continue to extend and usher in various changes.

The memories of the rise and expansion of the Black Star Army flashed through Han Xiao's mind. In a trance, he felt another information anchor point being generated. He nodded, turned around, and disappeared on the spot.

At the same time, Melos, Sivier, Laki, and others who were doing their own things suddenly felt something in their hearts. For some reason, Han Xiao's figure suddenly appeared in their minds, lingering. They subconsciously remembered the dusty memories of when they first fought alongside Han Xiao. For a time, they stopped what they were doing, remained silent, and felt complicated.

"What's wrong with me... Why do I suddenly miss the old Black Star so much..."