The entire explored universe cracked down on the population trade with unprecedented force and remarkable effect. Regardless of whether it was the underworld or the legitimate world, human traffickers no longer had a place to stand. The protective umbrellas they once relied on now avoided them like the plague. Both buyers and sellers were as quiet as cicadas in winter. A large number of individuals and forces involved in population transactions were investigated and subjected to varying degrees of punishment, such as fines, imprisonment, and the death penalty, depending on the seriousness of the circumstances and the scale of the forces involved. Countless human traffickers ushered in their doomsday.

Of course, most people would not sit still and wait for death. Resistance was inevitable, and the intricate and complex situation under the population trade ecosystem was thus exposed to the world. Sellers may have nowhere to escape, but many buyers had power and influence, scattered in all walks of life, like stubborn stains remaining in the cracks.

Many forces were willing to kill human traffickers, but it was impossible to liquidate all of the vast number of buyers. Many cooperative forces would not agree to it either, because it involved too much and could easily change the nature of the action, and their own dark history might be dug up. There were many factors to consider.

Han Xiao did not insist on this. He only wanted to kill the sellers. Even if there were still buyers who were not dead, they would not be able to find a source of goods for a long time and could only think about it.

If there were bold speculators who felt that the population market had vacated a share and took the risk, trying to develop private clients in a one-on-one confidential manner, the advanced civilizations of the regulatory network were not decorations, and the search program made by a Transcendent Grade Virtual Mechanic like him was not just for show.

The association and the advanced civilizations jointly formulated more detailed disposal methods and introduced some new laws and regulations. Han Xiao did not need to do this personally.

As one population trade chain after another was publicly eradicated, Han Xiao was increasingly supported by the galactic citizens. However, although ending the population trade had given him great prestige, it had also offended many people at the same time.

…

Black Star Palace, private mechanical workshop.

Han Xiao flipped through the feedback collected by the intelligence department these days, with a strange look on his face, and said with a tsk:

"Hey, the commotion is bigger than I expected. It seems that doing such a thing won't get you much good. These powerful guys, no matter how respectful they are on the surface, probably think I'm meddling in their business in private. I don't know how many guys secretly regard me as an enemy."

The buyers who had the ability to keep slaves without being held accountable were obviously not ordinary people. He had deprived them of their "hobby". Even if these guys did not dare to express their dissatisfaction, they would definitely not have good feelings in their hearts. If there was an opportunity to kick someone when they were down one day, they would definitely not mind taking a kick.

"If I didn't have individual strength, I definitely wouldn't end well in the future…"

Han Xiao curled his lips.

Unfortunately, his fists were big enough, so even if these people didn't like him, there was nothing they could do about it.

When you walk in the martial world, how can you not make enemies? Han Xiao didn't care.

He opened the panel and looked at some of the task lists. [The End of Darkness] was already displayed as "Settlable", which surprised him a little.

"It's completed like this. The operation isn't over yet."

Han Xiao stroked his chin, lost in thought.

Now the atmosphere was tense, and no one dared to take risks at this time. The human traffickers who had not yet been caught had no intention of developing their business and were all burying their heads in running away. The trade chain was basically completely broken.

In a sense, during this period, galactic population trade was indeed temporarily terminated. As long as the task was settled before it revived, it should be fine.

"In this way, the task judgment is still relatively lenient, and the difficulty is within the acceptable range."

Han Xiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief and let go of his worries.

If the task was to keep the galaxy from ever having population trade, then not to mention one trillion experience points, he felt that even a reward of ten trillion or a hundred trillion experience points might not be worthy of this difficulty.

The current requirement was also very difficult. It seemed simple for him to complete it, but that was because he had accumulated a high enough status. There were very few forces in the entire galaxy with his appeal. Someone else would not be able to get started at all.

Han Xiao didn't want to delay, so he directly settled the task.

[【The End of Darkness】 has been completed!]

[You have obtained 10000e experience, random reward x15, blank character card x5]

[You have obtained the milestone 【Slave Liberator】!]

[【Slave Liberator】: Your relationship with all Order camp factions is permanently fixed at 【Reverence】]

[You have obtained 3 points of Universe Legendary Points]

[Universe Legendary Points: 【Light of Justice】——You have torn apart the darkness of the population trade and brought the light of justice to this star sea. Countless people regard you as an idol.]

[Universe Legendary Points: 【Great Deeds】——Your actions to end population trade will become a monument to humanitarianism, remembered by history, and leave a full-text recitation in textbooks.]

[Universe Legendary Points: 【Freedom Leader】——You have saved countless desperate people and freed them from their shackles. In the eyes of the rescued, your existence symbolizes supreme freedom.]

"Hey, done."

Han Xiao relaxed and happily checked his gains.

The one trillion experience point reward mainly reflected the difficulty. For him, it was neither too little nor too much, about six or seven Old Macs, but it was also a good windfall.

Experience was still useful to him now. Although he had been promoted to the Transcendent Grade, his total level had not yet reached the limit. However, the upgrade cost was even more exaggerated. One trillion experience points could not even raise him by one level. It was simply a bottomless pit.

In his eyes, the most practical rewards were still fifteen random reward opportunities and five blank character cards… especially the latter, which could be used to copy other people's abilities again.

As for the effect of the 【Slave Liberator】 milestone, it would have been very useful in the past, but with his current status, the performance was about the same even without this milestone.

However, this achievement was a stronger amulet. He stood on the moral high ground, and if the three major civilizations wanted to target him again in the future, the rebound would be even more severe.

In addition, this was also a huge political asset. If one day he had ideas about the position of ruler of the galactic society, perhaps some people would directly bring food and drink to welcome the king's army, welcoming the great Black Star His Majesty to his loyal Central Star Sea…

"Cough cough…"

Han Xiao coughed twice, put away these wild thoughts, tapped the table with his fingers, and pondered to himself.

He used his influence to call on forces throughout the universe to cooperate to end the population trade, so he naturally couldn't change his mind and orders, otherwise it would damage his prestige. Although the task was completed, it was not appropriate to stop the action immediately, so he still had to continue.

"This is good too. Anyway, it's not a bad thing. If you save people, save them to the end, and see them safely on their way."

Han Xiao calmed his mind, opened the forum and glanced at it, and found that many players were also discussing this matter. Most of the posts were mainly admiration and praise.

His deeds were also added to the *Galactic Chronicles* by the players, sparing no effort to use beautiful words. All kinds of rainbow farts made him feel comfortable, and he didn't feel ashamed at all.

After browsing the forum with a pleasant mood, Han Xiao suddenly paused and saw a post that he cared about quite a bit.

This was an announcement post, and the content was the time of the next version update. Han Xiao converted it slightly, and it was about nine months after the Star Sea Calendar that the players would usher in an offline update.

The players' activity time in Version 5.0 had not reached the standards of the previous versions. Even the professional league had not yet been held, but this update was not a major version update, but an entry into Version 5.5, which was a minor update.

There had been several minor version updates in this form in his previous life, but in Han Xiao's memory, there was no such update in Version 5.0 in his previous life.

"It seems like it's my butterfly effect again."

Han Xiao was helpless.

Under his influence, the current plot was completely different. Even the name of Version 5.0 had become [Black Star Era], so it didn't seem strange that the update time had changed.

After all, each version update took certain major events as its entry point. This was automatically determined. Now that the World Tree would arrive at the explored universe border in ten years, he estimated that this was the reason for the minor update.

"It doesn't feel like a favorable change. I wanted to see if I could level up a few more times."

Han Xiao rubbed his brow.

A minor version update could unlock the players' level cap again, but it was precisely for this reason that the players' experience points had an important consumption channel again, and he could not continue to harvest leeks with the highest efficiency.

In addition, the three major civilizations were currently harassing the World Tree's advance, and this was when they needed cannon fodder the most. If the players went offline, they would have one less recyclable armed force.

"It seems that I have to prepare. Before they go offline, I have to harvest them hard again."

A sickle-like gleam flashed in Han Xiao's eyes.

He was already familiar with this. The key was to give the players enough motivation to empty their shopping carts.

Compared to selling supplies and equipment, various professional knowledge and skills were the biggest source of experience points.

Therefore… skills are unsalable, help us!

…

The days of nine months passed in a flash. During this period, Han Xiao used all his skills and changed his promotional methods every day, as if it were Double Eleven every day.

Many legion players fell into a frenzy of buying, and their experience bars and wallets were depleted at an incredible rate.

But they were not sad at all. On the contrary, they were very happy and felt that they had made a big profit, that it was worth the money, and they smiled like little flowers.

After spending the money, they still have to thank us…

After squeezing a wave of players, Han Xiao's experience reserves were much richer. As long as he didn't use it to upgrade, he could use it for a long time. In his opinion, it was enough to cover many years of research expenses.

When the day of the version update came, many players went offline and disappeared, which caught the three major civilizations a little off guard, but they quickly adjusted and replaced people to block the World Tree army. The casualty rate inevitably increased.

After solving the problem of population trade, Han Xiao did not continue to cause trouble. He cooperated with the three major civilizations to prepare for war in full swing, and time flew by in busyness.

No unexpected situations occurred during the war preparation period. The transformation of the Shattered Star Ring border was successfully completed, becoming a scorched-earth war zone, while the secondary dimension expeditionary army used the territory of the King of the Worlds as a transit station and continued to search for the whereabouts of the World Tree body.

Most of the Super A Grades had made progress to varying degrees under Han Xiao's guidance, and a group of new Super A Grade powerhouses were born among the Calamity Grade trainees of the training base and left their names in the Sanctuary.

In addition, many Super A Grade forces also completed their migration. Under Han Xiao's instructions, the Black Star Army moved away from the Shattered Star Ring, temporarily withdrawing from these borderlands that bore the brunt of the attack, so as to avoid suffering additional losses in the war.

Year after year passed, the distance between the World Tree and the Shattered Star Ring shortened day by day, and the atmosphere in the explored universe became increasingly tense.

Finally, on February 5, Star Sea Calendar 797, the shadow of the World Tree spread.

…

At the border of the Shattered Star Ring facing the unexplored universe, dense streams of light leaped over, turning into a huge World Tree fleet.

Countless World Tree soldiers looked at the starry sky outside the window. The scenes they saw were transmitted along the World Tree's mind and synchronized to the Mind Tree King sitting in the base camp.

The Mind Tree King sat on the throne, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

Ten years was only a fleeting moment for him, and the memory of fighting Han Xiao seemed like yesterday.

Field battles were not the strong point of the World Tree civilization. Invading the home planet of the enemy civilization was their greatest advantage. They could snowball through the World Tree's devouring ability, eat up all resources, and exhaust all enemies.

The war was finally entering the rhythm that they were good at!

The Mind Tree King tightened his hand, and with a crack, he crushed the armrest of the throne, his voice low and hoarse:

"We've finally found your territory… It's time to let you taste despair!"