Half a day later.
A light green force field rolled up a set of clothes, causing it to float in the air. Han Xiao reached out to grab it, put it on, and dressed neatly. He rubbed his tired waist and came to the mirror to rub his cheeks.
Ames untied her hair and casually combed it. Her black hair flowed down like a waterfall. She opened the fridge with her force field, took out a half-empty bottle of hard liquor, poured two glasses, and came to Han Xiao's side. She turned around and sat on the edge of the table. She handed one of the glasses to Han Xiao and smiled.
"Drink some?"
Hearing this, Han Xiao glanced at her, took the glass, and took a sip. Ames smiled and reached out to tidy up Han Xiao's clothes, helping him straighten his collar.
"You've been quite busy recently. I wanted to find you some time ago, but I couldn't contact you."
"When am I not busy?"
Han Xiao smacked his lips and tasted the wine. The sweet taste echoed in his mouth.
"Treat me honestly. Where did you go a few days ago? Did you go to the secondary dimensions with someone else?" Ames took a sip of the wine. Her posture was elegant, and her tone was teasing.
"Nonsense, I've only gone to the secondary dimensions with you. At most, there's Kasuyi." Han Xiao drank the wine in one gulp, put down the glass, and casually combed his hair with his fingers in the mirror.
Ames swirled the cup, smiled, and said, "You can be considered successful now. You've won independence for the Beyond Grade A Association, and the three Universal Civilizations have acknowledged your identity again. More than half of the goals you set for the association have been completed. You can relax now, right?"
"It's still early. It's not the time to relax yet."
"What, you're still not satisfied and want to continue climbing up?" Ames raised her brows. "You're already a top figure in the universe. It's a little dangerous to continue climbing. Don't tell me an ambitious person like you really wants to steal the position of the three Universal Civilizations and steal the position of the ruler?"
"You're thinking too much. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about something else. There's still a huge threat that hasn't been dealt with yet, but I can't tell you about it yet."
Han Xiao glanced at her helplessly. He did not reveal much about the World Tree for the time being. Even those close to him did not know.
"Alright, you always have big plans anyway … But, you can't be so busy all the time. There will be a day when you stop."
"If this matter can be resolved smoothly, I should be able to rest for a long time."
"Then I'll wait. Don't go back on your words." Ames smiled gently.
"We'll see how it goes. If I really have free time, I'll spend more time with you."
Han Xiao casually chatted for a while. Just as he was about to change into King and leave, his communicator rang. He had received a message.
He took it out and looked at it. It was Aesop. Han Xiao was suddenly happy.
"Heh, it's the old man who's looking for me. His timing is really on point."
Ames glanced over and said nonchalantly, "He must have seen that the earthquake has stopped. That's why he called you."
"Do you want to go together?" Han Xiao waved his communicator.
"He's looking for you, not me. He probably has some prophecy to talk to you about, so I won't go. I still have to meet Hella and the others later. You can go see the old man yourself. I'm going to take a shower."
Ames waved her hand lazily and patted Han Xiao's butt. She then got up and left the table, walking out of the room.
Han Xiao shook his head, left the Dragon Emperor Palace, and went to Aesop's house with ease. He was soon welcomed in by the AI butler.
As soon as he entered, he saw Aesop sitting on the sofa and raising his eyebrows at him.
"You're out?"
"You already know the answer."
Han Xiao curled his lips, picked up a fruit from the fruit platter on the table, and threw it into his mouth. He then sat on the sofa beside Aesop, put one arm on the back of the chair, and crossed his legs, as if it was his own home. He casually asked,
He casually asked, "Why are you looking for me?"
"Be quieter next time," Aesop said helplessly.
"It's not the first time. Since when did you care so much?" Han Xiao glanced at him strangely.
"I'm saying be more careful. Every time you guys are done with the earthquake, the logistics department has to repair it. They think that Ames is training and have already complained to me more than once, asking me to persuade her not to trouble Floating Dragon Island."
Aesop shook his head with a pained expression.
He knew that Han Xiao and Ames had maintained a relationship for a very long time. Although Ames was his adopted daughter in name, he knew that this kind of private matter had nothing to do with him. Therefore, he did not interfere or have the ability to do so. Furthermore, Black Star had always made him very satisfied.
As an Ancient with a rich history of love, Aesop was quite open-minded in this regard. He was not surprised that Ames and Black Star had hooked up. The way he saw it, the two of them had known each other for almost a hundred years, and they were on the same level. They had experienced many things together and liked each other. It was only a matter of time before they slept on the same bed.
As for the two of them not being married, it was not a big deal in Aesop's eyes. The old-style marriage system was no longer popular thousands of years ago. The galactic races had a long lifespan and a colorful life. Lifelong monogamy was a backward system that many galactic civilizations had eliminated. The mainstream type of marriage contract now was usually legal polygamy and monogamy with a contractual time limit. However, no matter what kind of marriage it was, it was no longer a necessity for galactic residents. Due to the strong mobility of the population, most of the galactic civilizations' identity registration had been simplified. Many galactic residents raised their children out of wedlock. The civilizations gave them high subsidies and even built public foster homes.
Hearing this, Han Xiao was a little speechless.
"You didn't call me here just for this, right? If there's nothing serious, I'll go back."
"I'm not that bored. Of course, I have something serious to talk to you about."
Aesop calmed himself down and threw away his distracting thoughts. He leaned forward and said solemnly,
"I recently had a new prophecy. I saw an ominous cloud hanging over the galactic society. It contains blood, fire, roars, and screams. It's very likely that a disaster is brewing … Do you still remember my previous prophecy? Endless wormholes opened up, and countless fleets invaded. The two seem to be related. Perhaps an unknown war will break out in the near future."
"Is that so?"
Han Xiao raised his brows. The content of Aesop's prophecy was probably referring to the World Tree.
"You don't seem surprised?" Aesop blinked.
"Since you have a prophecy, there's no need to hide it from you. You must be very curious about the reason why the three Universal Civilizations have given in time and time again. This is it." Han Xiao spread his hands.
Aesop was shocked before coming to a realization. "So there's an external enemy. That makes sense. The three Universal Civilizations have no choice but to unite their forces, so they reached an agreement with you."
"That's about it. I can reveal some information. The external enemy this time is very troublesome. It might be the strongest enemy the three Universal Civilizations have seen in all these years. As for the specific details, I can't tell you for the time being. Just be mentally prepared," Han Xiao said.
"… So, a universal war is really going to break out. Sigh, the days of peace are always so short. If it's an external enemy, it won't be a small fight. Who knows how many people will die?" Aesop sighed.
As he spoke, his expression turned solemn.
"Black Star, if the situation isn't good, I hope you can leave with Ames. There's no need to die with the three Universal Civilizations."
"… How tragic is the scene you prophesied to make you so pessimistic?"
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.
Aesop said slowly with a serious expression, "I'm just taking precautions. Remember, if the situation isn't right, don't walk down a dark path."
…
On the other side, in the Void Dimension, Kasuyi's palace.
Kasuyi sat at one end of the table. Opposite him was Manison's remote projection. On the table was a virtual card game of Wayne Cards. The two of them were playing cards while chatting casually.
"Now that the association has an official status, according to Black Star's personality, he should strike while the iron is hot and carry out the next step of the plan. Now, he's keeping a low profile and not opening up a new plan, missing the opportunity.
This isn't like him, "Kasuyi said slowly as he casually played a card.
Manison checked his cards and casually said without raising his head, "Black Star definitely has his own plan."
"He's been very mysterious recently, colluding with the three Universal Civilizations. I don't know what he's doing. Speaking of which, the three Universal Civilizations' concessions have always been strange." Kasuyi crossed his hands.
Manison did not mind and said calmly, "The three Universal Civilizations are obviously under pressure.
"The choice of the three Universal Civilizations is obviously due to pressure. As for where the pressure is coming from, there are only a few possibilities. Based on the current situation, the most likely scenario is an invasion. Black Star should have reached an agreement with the three Universal Civilizations to fight the enemy together. Let's just wait."
"Not necessarily." Kasuyi shook his head.
Because he had information on the Iterations, he thought more. Other than the possibility of foreign enemies, he also felt that the three Universal Civilizations might have discovered the existence of the Iterations and put down the dispute. However, this was all speculation. No matter which one it was, he supported Han Xiao's current approach.
Although Han Xiao did not reveal the situation of the World Tree, many Beyond Grade As had thought about it over the past few days and roughly guessed that the reason for the current situation was the existence of an external enemy.
However, since Black Star did not announce it, many association members had a tacit understanding and pretended not to know. In places that Han Xiao did not know, there were already quite a number of Beyond Grade As secretly preparing for battle.
…
Somewhere in the unexplored universe.
The spaceship of the World Tree exploration team changed direction and was heading in one direction at full speed. The crew members in the cockpit were all excited, and there were even a few trembling old Kunde Race members tied up in the corner.
"After so many years, we've finally found a prey."
The captain stared at the coordinates on the screen excitedly.
They had been wandering in the universe for many years, searching for unknown civilizations alone. The universe was so vast, and the probability was obvious. It was like finding a needle in a haystack. To the expedition team, it was like an exile, and they only had a harvest today.
Not long ago, they had discovered a low-tech escape pod and captured the life inside. Through various methods, they had obtained the information in the memories of these intelligent creatures who called themselves the Kunde Race.
When the dynasty defeated the Kunde Race Civilization, batches of their race had escaped through the escape pods. After many years of travel and some coincidental factors, some of the survivors had left the explored universe, and this escape pod was one of those who had escaped.
The memories of these Kunde Race members of the explored universe only stopped at the stage of the war between the Red Empire and them. Because they were a native civilization of the Flickering World and had not integrated into the galactic society, they had almost no understanding of the situation in the explored universe.
However, to the World Tree exploration team, the most valuable information was the coordinates recorded in this escape pod, as well as the navigation records over the years. It provided them with a navigation target that pointed to the original address of the Kunde Race civilization, which was the Flickering World Star Field.
Due to the uniqueness of the World Tree's mental network, every exploration team was a real-time universe coordinate recorder. The coordinates of every place they passed would be uploaded to the World Tree simultaneously.
This meant that as long as the exploration team reached their destination, they would obtain the coordinates of their opponent. After analysis and research, the World Tree's base could use the wormhole generator to transport a large number of troops. The three Universal Civilizations had also used this method to enter the territory of the World Tree Civilization for the first time. It was basically the standard space technology of advanced civilizations.
At the same time, the exploration team was also in charge of intelligence work, infiltrating the territory of the unknown civilization to gather information about the other party. Only when they knew about the enemy's situation would the World Tree invade on a large scale, not rashly start a war as soon as they found prey.
"I wonder what level of civilization the prey is this time. Could it be the nest of the outsider who caused a ruckus in the territory of the civilization recently … Tsk, we have to be careful!"
The captain muttered to himself and was very vigilant. He had also learned from the mental network that Han Xiao had fought a hundred enemies alone in the territory of the World Tree Civilization.
If these coordinates were really the hometown of that brave outsider, the danger level would be the highest!
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