Chapter 1 One Man Army Online

One of the Black Star Army’s bases. Blinding white light flashed, and countless Army players materialized, quickly creating a sea of people.

Many veteran players were already familiar with the drill. They opened their panels to check the version while browsing the quantum network for the current point in time.

"Oh, this time the time span is only a little over a decade, much shorter than the last time."

"It's just a small version update, it’s alright."

"The three Universal Civilizations said that the World Tree Civilization would invade in just over a decade. This timeline is right on the mark. Seems like *Star Sea Times* was right. This is the time node for the update, straight into the war phase."

"It’s rare to have a cosmic war. As long as it's not skipped by a direct version update, I'll be satisfied."

The players browsed the events of the past decade, chatting casually.

The decade of preparation hadn’t seen any major events worth noting, except for the changes in the Beyond Grade A group, which many players found fascinating.

"No way, Lagi is Beyond Grade A now? My youth is over!"

"Hadaway, that gambling addict, still hasn’t advanced? Hahahaha, I knew he couldn't do it!"

"Niao Tian’s life is so smooth. Is this the new wave?"

"Holy crap! The Heterochromatic God has been released, and he even killed a Tree King? Awesome!"

"Damn it, there are so many new Beyond Grade As. The cost of collecting a complete set of Wien Cards just went up again."

"Damn, Black Star and Dragon Emperor went public? Damn it! There's no hope for me... Born before you, I can only watch you grow old. Is this the bitterness of life?"

"What are you even dreaming about? Black Star is mine!"

"They are a match made in heaven. Who am I to oppose them? Wuwuwu…"

Many Army players looked through rumors about various Beyond Grade As, their gossip hearts burning.

Originally, apart from a few Beyond Grade As like Han Xiao, other top powerhouses had relatively little interaction with the players. The players didn't have a deep impression of them, nor would they deliberately remember them… But the existence of the Wien Cards became a link between the two sides, causing players to know the names and deeds of each Beyond Grade A like the back of their hand, and they felt a sense of familiarity.

However, compared to casual players, professional players were more pragmatic, without the heart for gossip. They mainly collected useful information, discussing in groups of two or three.

Maple Moon analyzed in a low voice, "The name of this updated version has an extra suffix, 'All-Out War'. The World Tree will probably invade. This should be the theme of the version."

"Yeah, I checked online. The World Tree has already reached the border, but is temporarily blocked by the Interstellar United Army. And a few days ago, the World Tree invaded from the secondary dimension, but was eventually beaten back. The situation of the three Universal Civilizations is still pretty good."

Maple Moon looked at the panel and pondered, "This small version update unlocks some more level limits. Players in the first few echelons should be able to enter the Disaster Grade."

Mad Blade nodded in agreement, saying, "As the overall strength increases, the ways to improve strength will also become more abundant, and some abilities will undergo qualitative changes. I think there should be significant changes in this professional league."

This small version update, the time jump was not long, the main quest remained unchanged, and what the professional players cared about most was that the level cap was unlocked from Level 180 to Level 200, giving them more room for improvement.

"Let's go to the front line first and let the headquarters arrange some combat missions."

"Let's go, if we go late, the good missions will be gone."

Many players stirred for a while, finally figuring out the current situation, and boarded spaceships to head to the front line. Streaks of light flew out of the base.

…

On the other side, the main planet of the Beyond Grade A Association.

Han Xiao had already announced the adjournment of the meeting and returned to his room. He saw many players go online through surveillance, his expression subtle.

"The level is unlocked to Level 200? As long as there are not too many secondary classes, and the growth is a little more normal, players can almost all enter the Disaster Grade. The scale will be huge."

If it were in the past, Han Xiao would still be a little wary, but now he had enough confidence. Even if a large number of players entered the Disaster Grade, they would not be able to cause him much trouble.

Although he himself had reached the Super Grade, he had not yet reached the limit. He still had to harvest the leeks. However, before the last update, he had already harvested a large amount of the players' assets. Now that the players had just gone online, their wallets were empty, and they would have to wait for them to earn money for a while before they could generate enough revenue.

Moreover, Han Xiao had now found another way to farm experience, which was to kill a large number of enemies on the battlefield with psionic shockwaves. This was much faster than mechanical troops, and it was extremely low-cost and convenient. Even if there was a level penalty, the ordinary members of the World Tree could only provide the minimum 1 point of experience, but the psionic shockwaves were powerful, and it added up over time, winning with quantity.

The World Tree's manpower was constantly resurrected, making it a perfect experience farming target.

Han Xiao decided to do both, and do both well.

The players were on the right track and did not need much attention. What Han Xiao cared about more was the meaning of the version name, but he had no clue at the moment.

"In any case, this is a clue…"

Han Xiao nodded secretly.

Under his influence, the direction of the Star Sea was now completely different from that of his previous life. He had also come into contact with many secrets that the player group could not reach in his previous life. He did not dare to say that he completely understood this universe. Even if the suspicion based on the version name was just catching the wind, it was better to be cautious.

Han Xiao closed the panel, summoned Phillip, and gave some instructions before putting on the Emperor Suit and teleporting directly to Longtan.

Now that the Aquamarine Star Civilization had collectively migrated, Longtan had followed. Currently, they were all taking refuge in the Central Star Sea.

In the huge Dragon Emperor’s palace, a light flashed slightly, and Han Xiao’s figure appeared out of thin air. He turned his head and walked out, heading straight for Izo’s residence.

Since there were no clues, he would ask metaphysics if anything happened.

He soon arrived at his destination and rang the doorbell.

"You're here?"

Izo opened the door and invited Han Xiao in.

Han Xiao was not polite. He sat down on the sofa and smiled, "Why didn't you foresee that I would come to you this time?"

"Predictions don't always work. Since you advanced to the Super Grade, my predictions about you have become more and more difficult…"

Izo shook his head.

"That's true." Han Xiao nodded.

He had already done the test. The informational projection of the Super Grade had sublimated and seemed to have a certain degree of informational shielding, making it difficult for outsiders to predict him.

"What do you want from me?" Izo paused and said, "If it's a prediction, I'm afraid I can't help you. I can't use my ability for the time being."

"Huh? What's going on?"

Han Xiao was slightly stunned and carefully looked at Izo, only to find that Izo looked listless, as if he had been seriously ill.

"When I was obtaining a passive prediction, I was backlashed. The object of my prediction was an unprecedented mage who inflicted damage on me. My spirit still needs time to recover. Before that, I can't help you…" Izo coughed twice, his tone a little weak.

"You didn't tell Ames?" Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

"No, she's too impulsive. If she knew about this, I don't know what would happen."

Izo shook his head. He rarely revealed important predictive information to Ames. He usually only discussed things with Han Xiao and continued:

"I was originally planning to tell you, but I was still hesitating about how to say it, and you went to the battlefield."

"When did this happen?" Han Xiao asked.

"Counting the time, I triggered the prediction right before the forward base of the expeditionary army was attacked."

Hearing this, Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

What a coincidence… Could it be the Secret Tree King? This guy is indeed a very powerful mage, and he is very suspicious.

"Do you have any other memories about that mage?"

"No, my prediction screen was shattered, and I can't remember what he looks like at all."

"I see…" Han Xiao pondered, "I might have guessed who this person is. He should be a powerhouse from the World Tree's side."

"How is he? Did he cause you any danger?"

"Don't worry, I've already sealed him up. If you're still angry, you're welcome to visit him at any time."

"Forget it, I don't have your kind of bad taste." Izo waved his hand.

Han Xiao smiled and stood up, preparing to say goodbye and leave.

At this moment, Izo suddenly said, "By the way, when are you and Ames going to have offspring?"

Han Xiao paused and said helplessly, "How would I know? I'm ready at any time, but she doesn't agree. It just depends on when she changes her mind."

"Hey, she's just being stubborn. As long as the atmosphere is right, it'll be a natural process." Izo immediately perked up, talking eloquently, "Back then, when I traveled the Star Sea, I don't know how many females fell in love with me. If I didn't want to, my children would have already spread all over the star field. Let me tell you, I'm very experienced in this area. Come, let me pass on some tricks to you…"

"You should keep it for yourself. I don't need it." The corner of Han Xiao's eye twitched.

"Hey, why don't you need it? This is all the spiritual wealth left by our predecessors. If you learn these tricks, persuading Ames will be a piece of cake. I wouldn't teach anyone else… Hey, don't go. At least listen to a little!"

"Get lost."

Han Xiao didn't want to pay attention to this old playboy with a rich love history. He put on the Emperor Suit and teleported away, leaving Izo sighing in the room, his face full of regret.

Covenant Organization base, Laboratory of the Child of Destiny.

With a flash of light, Han Xiao teleported here. The Covenant Organization’s researchers around him looked up and continued to do their own things as if they were used to it.

Han Xiao skillfully awakened the Child of Destiny, communicated with him for a while, and asked the Child of Destiny to predict his concerns.

After a while, the Child of Destiny shook his head, indicating that he could not predict it.

Seeing this, Han Xiao knew that the means of prediction were probably useless. The other party probably used information shielding methods.

"It seems that we can only strengthen the conventional screening efforts first and pay attention to any abnormalities…"

Han Xiao pondered secretly.

…

Central Star Sea, Barren Universe Belt.

In the Star Alliance's secret hidden base, a group of Observers were gathered in a large room, staring intently at the device in the center of the room.

This device was a cylinder, about ten meters in diameter and fifteen meters high. The whole body was silver-gray, and many wires were connected to the surface. Pieces of indicator lights were flashing wildly, and the buzzing sound of operation sounded. This was a long-distance material transfer device.

After a while, the material transfer device suddenly shook, and the upper and lower parts separated. The upper cylinder slowly rose, and a space covered by a transparent cover could be seen inside the cylinder. A white suitcase lay quietly inside.

"The family has transferred the things over."

The Observer Captain stepped forward to twist the valve, opened the cover of the material transfer device, and took out the white suitcase. He opened it on the spot and saw three white cans in the box without any markings.

He took a pistol-like instrument from a team member and scanned the three cans one by one, glanced at the readings, and then nodded.

"Confirmed, they are all particles that have been micro-encoded."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone present looked happy.

The Star Alliance ordered the Observer Squad to secretly leak information about the three Universal Civilizations. They thought of many ways, including using the energy of supernova explosions to transmit wave-like information to the entire universe, and using the Star Position Transmission Method to vaguely transmit information to the World Tree, but they were all rejected one by one.

In the end, the Star Alliance chose to encode tiny particles. Using the micro-transcription technology, they unfolded the particles in low dimensions and recorded a huge amount of information on them, and then returned to their original form in high dimensions, turning extremely tiny particles into information carriers, containing all the intelligence they wanted to leak.

The Star Alliance mass-produced a pile of encoded particles, preparing to throw these encoded particles outside the border through the wormhole, causing the storage device to self-destruct on time, attracting the World Tree's attention, and spreading the particles at the same time.

They believed that with the World Tree's technology, they should be able to discover the anomaly of these encoded particles and intercept them.

The Star Alliance had developed for a long time and possessed very high technical strength. They also had some knowledge of information states. They had been providing information shielding for the Observer Squad and were not afraid of their actions being discovered by predictive means. They had been quietly stealing the technological achievements of the interstellar society for many years and had a good understanding of the interstellar society. They were confident that they would not be discovered.