Chapter 1 Sending Off

Having seen off the expedition team, Han Xiao stood at the dock for a while. Then, Guzar, clad in a sharp imperial military uniform, approached from behind and stood shoulder to shoulder with him.

Guzar, with a face full of beard, resembling Zhang Fei, took out a thick red cigarette from his upper pocket. He struck a match, lit the cigarette, took a deep puff, then exhaled a puff of bluish smoke, and smacked his lips.

"This is just the first batch. There will be a second and a third expedition team later. The dangers of the deeper sub-dimensions are unpredictable. I hope the World Tree body you spoke of really exists, and that the sacrifices are not in vain."

"Don't be too pessimistic. Maybe it'll be thrilling but safe," Han Xiao replied casually.

Guzar remained noncommittal. He took out another cigarette from his pocket and handed it to Han Xiao. "These are specially supplied to the empire's higher-ups, you can't buy them on the market. Want to try one?"

"I don't smoke anymore," Han Xiao waved his hand in refusal.

"Is that so." Guzar put the cigarette away and shook his head. "Speaking of which, I've never heard of any hobbies you have. Do you mechanics not have any need for entertainment?"

"What's more fun than robots?" Han Xiao glanced at him. "Just say what you want."

"Can't I just chat with you if I have nothing to do?" Guzar spread his hands.

Although Black Star had beaten up them direct descendants not long ago, the two sides had now made peace. Fighting before the battle was a matter of public affairs, and there was no personal hatred.

Most Super A Grades admired the strong, and the three major civilizations' direct descendants were no exception. They all held a certain degree of respect for Black Star's achievements and abilities.

"Maybe next time, I'm pretty busy," Han Xiao patted Guzar on the shoulder.

Guzar sighed and said, "Alright, I'm here to tell you that His Excellency the Head of State is waiting for you online. He wants to talk to you about something."

"Why didn't you say so earlier."

Han Xiao turned and walked into the imperial outpost base, came to the private communication room, and answered Mabrus's call.

"Head of State Mabrus, what's the matter?"

"Our exploration has made some progress. The probes have collected exact coordinates. The High-Dimensional Apocalypse Transmitter can now directly reach the World Tree Civilization's territory, but we have no intention of sending troops for the time being."

Hearing this, Han Xiao nodded.

The Glorious Federation's High-Dimensional Apocalypse Transmitter had extremely high strategic value and was very useful. It was inevitable to use it here.

Unfortunately, the three major civilizations limited the areas where he could intervene, treating him more as a consultant and not allowing him to use the World Tree Passage to project anything.

"Is there anything I can help with?"

"We plan to bury some detection equipment and strategic killing weapons in the uninhabited areas. For this, we need more information, such as the star map and the division of forces on the opposite side… It's inefficient to rely on our slow detection, and as the detection range expands, the risk of encountering World Tree Civilization creatures will also increase."

"So?" Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.

Mabrus pondered, "We plan to try to connect to the other side's network after we are well prepared to steal some superficial data, so I'm asking for your opinion."

Han Xiao thought for a while and said, "If it's just superficial data, as long as you enter from an unimportant terminal node, do a good job of data camouflage and trace removal, and let the Super A Grade parse the other side's basic network compiled language first, the risk will be within the control range."

This was not invading the other party's network, but browsing network information in disguise, so the difficulty was not high.

The World Tree Civilization also had a communication system in the form of a quantum network, which was basically standard for advanced civilizations, but the cornerstone of the communication method was not the quantum network, but a spiritual network inherent in the World Tree called "twig connection". The latter was too transparent and public, and its function was too simple, not as diversified as the quantum network.

"Then let the Super A Grade mechanics take the lead, supplemented by the main intelligence's computing power, to collect superficial information from the other party's network. The information obtained at that time will also be shared with you."

After chatting about serious matters for a while, Mabrus hung up the communication, mainly to inform him of the exploration plan.

Han Xiao put down the communicator and curled his lips.

"Besides the sub-dimension expeditionary force, I'm not allowed to actually interfere with other exploration work. It seems they are still wary…"

The current situation was far from the stage of united efforts in his previous life. Although it wasn't a matter of scheming against each other, they couldn't completely trust each other and cooperate without any concerns like in his previous life.

…

Leaving the imperial outpost and returning to the legion base, Han Xiao summoned Phillip and issued a special call-up order to hundreds of Super A Grade seeds in the legion.

Because the three major civilizations strictly controlled the World Tree Passage, there was not much preparation he could do at the moment. In addition to improving the Void Divine Transformation and letting the production line go all out to produce troops around the clock, he could only wait for the players to get rich through hard work and slowly supply experience points.

So he planned to use the advantages of the panel to conduct long-term special training for the hundreds of Super A Grade seeds who had defected to the legion a year ago, hoping that new Super A Grades would be born among these people to strengthen the association's high-end power.

After sending the message, Han Xiao left the room and walked around the base, when he suddenly ran into Jenny.

Han Xiao couldn't help but stop and said in confusion, "Ames has returned to Longtan, why are you still here?"

Jenny crossed her arms and snorted, "I finally got a vacation because of the evacuation. I don't want to go back to work so soon. Let Ames manage it herself. I just want to be free for a while."

Han Xiao suddenly understood.

"So you've rested well. No wonder your hairline has recovered a bit. I almost didn't recognize you."

"If you can't speak, you can shut up. No one's treating you like a mute."

Jenny rolled her eyes.

"Then you can rest well here with me, but if Ames comes to ask me for someone, don't expect me to help you."

Han Xiao shook his head and smiled, passing by her.

He was about to walk away when he suddenly heard Jenny speak again from behind, this time with a somewhat hesitant tone:

"That… I haven't seen Harrison for a while. I sent him messages but he didn't reply. Where did he go?"

Han Xiao looked back at her, somewhat surprised.

"You two really hooked up? I thought you rejected him. It seems you and Ames are the same, both of you are honest with your bodies."

"That's bullshit!" Jenny immediately became angry. "I don't have anything to do with that annoying guy! I'm just curious!"

Han Xiao didn't believe it at all, and said casually, "He went to perform a secret mission. I guess you won't see him for a long time."

"Secret mission?" Jenny hesitated for a moment. "Is it dangerous?"

"Of course it is," Han Xiao replied quite readily.

Jenny choked for a moment, hesitated for two seconds, and whispered, "Then help me tell him…"

"Tell him what?"

Han Xiao immediately became vigilant.

*Little girl, be careful, don't set up a flag at will and lower Harrison's survival rate.*

Jenny bit her lip, turned her head away, and said stubbornly, "Just ask him, when will he pay back the money he owes me?"

"Tsk, not speaking your mind," Han Xiao ruthlessly exposed Jenny.

"Forget it if you don't want to help me ask!" Jenny said angrily.

"I'll ask, I'll ask… but I may not be able to contact him now. I'll talk about it when I have the chance."

Han Xiao waved his hand and turned to leave.

Walking to the corner, he turned his head and glanced, only to see Jenny still standing there, looking lost.

"Tsk, and you say there's no affair."

Han Xiao smacked his lips and was about to walk away when Phillip suddenly jumped out, his little face full of surprise.

"Master, another legion cadre has become a Super A Grade!"

"Huh? Let me see!"

Han Xiao was immediately overjoyed and immediately switched to the monitoring interface.

In the picture, a figure burning with martial arts flames was sitting cross-legged in the starry sky, like a small, radiant star. It was Rother, who had been in seclusion for decades.

"After holding it in for so long, this guy finally gave birth… bah, advanced."

Han Xiao was very pleased.

He originally thought that Rother would need a few more years to complete his transformation, but he didn't expect him to break through this boundary so quickly… could it be that he was inspired by seeing my heroic posture of repelling the three major civilizations?

Immediately changing into the Emperor, Han Xiao teleported to Rother's special dojo, and when he looked up, he saw Rother completing the final step of his evolution.

Han Xiao summoned the mechanical troops and set up energy shielding devices around.

After waiting for a while, the martial arts flames on Rother's body slowly receded, almost like solidified crystals, very condensed. Just touching them with his eyes could feel a compelling sharpness.

The nature of martial artists' qi varied, and Rother's core qi attribute was "sharpness" and "armor penetration", focusing on lethality.

Rother opened his eyes, saw the surrounding scene, immediately lowered his head and found Han Xiao, quickly flew down, and landed in front of Han Xiao.

"Your Excellency Black Star, I haven't let you down."

Rother's attitude was still respectful, and he did not become inflated and lost due to the surge of power.

Han Xiao squeezed his shoulder and smiled, "You are already a Super A Grade, just use equal titles. What are your thoughts next? Do you want to start your own business?"

"I am still willing to be the blade in your shadow. If it weren't for your cultivation, I wouldn't have achieved what I am today." Rother shook his head, still using honorifics.

Super A Grades generally would not continue to live under others, but the Black Star Legion was also an anomaly. There were already two Super A Grades working in it. With the precedent, the acceptance of later comers would be higher.

"Don't be humble, I helped you because you have potential."

As Han Xiao spoke, he punched Rother in the chest, making a muffled sound.

Rother couldn't help but take a step back, rubbing his aching chest.

Seeing this, Han Xiao shook his head, "You have to continue to exercise your body, it's still too fragile… In the eyes of ordinary people, Super A Grade is the peak, but in the eyes of us veterans, this is just the beginning. You have only just stepped into this threshold, and there is still a lot to practice. I can beat dozens of new Super A Grades like you."

"I have seen the live broadcast of your confrontation with the three major civilizations, and I firmly believe in this."

Rother nodded, he was also impressed by Han Xiao's performance at the time, and his heart was full of awe.

"Since you have become a Super A Grade, then I will give you a gift. I will get you a universe treasure-level weapon in a while. What type do you want? If you don't want mechanical equipment, I can also ask a magician to make you an enchanted equipment," Han Xiao asked.

Rother thought for a while, "A pair of daggers would be good."

"Okay, after you think it over, send me the specific requirements, and I will customize it for you."

Han Xiao smiled, and suddenly changed the subject, saying:

"By the way, speaking of which, I have a task for you."

"Where to go? Who to kill? How long is the deadline?"

Rother immediately became serious, showing his professional qualities.

"Hey, don't always fight and kill, it's not good." Han Xiao coughed and said, "There is a martial arts genius with extraordinary potential who is receiving special training here with me. A Super A Grade is already acting as his teacher. I hope you will also train him for a period of time and pass on your experience to him."

Carrot's bottlenecks were all in the early stage. Only by accumulating insights could he upgrade rapidly. The insights provided by different powerhouses were different. Silver Shadow had been almost squeezed dry, and the freshly baked Rother was a chive field that had not yet been harvested, a new tool person.

"Okay, I will do my best to teach him."

Rother nodded and agreed, and he was also a little curious in his heart.

How amazing was the potential of the martial arts genius that the legion commander specifically asked a Super A Grade to be his teacher?

…

This was a blue-green space. The intertwined blue-green tree roots served as the ground, presenting a semi-transparent state. Luminous bubble-like energy could be seen wandering and transmitting inside the roots, revealing a verdant vitality.

In the center of the space, a large number of roots were twisted and raised, forming a huge throne, on which sat a tall figure, closed his eyes as if he was sleeping. Vines covered his body, and blue-green entangled fluorescent lights flowed on his surface, like lively little elves.

Suddenly, the figure shook slightly, slowly opened his eyes, and raised his hand to gently pat the armrest of the seat.

In the next moment, the roots on the ground moved on their own, intertwined and deformed, as if turning into a flower bud. Then, the flower bud opened, and a tall figure appeared out of thin air, walking out of it, wearing a gorgeous robe.

As soon as she appeared, the tall figure gave a strange salute to the figure on the throne, and said in a low voice:

"What are your orders?"

Hearing this, the figure on the throne leaned forward slightly and slowly said:

"The information state alert network has an abnormal reaction. There may be an unknown collection of information interacting with us. Perhaps someone is spying on us. Go check it out."

"Understood, Tree King."