249 Hibernation Period

If there's a referral from a franchisee, it will be even easier.

Moreover, Li Aoz has two unique advantages:

First, he is a legend who repelled the [Machine World Society], and his fame and status speak for themselves.

Secondly, he is the Deified Person and [dominates] the path.

As a relatively young narrative, the Empire doesn't have many paths fully under their control; there's only one—the path of the [Destruction] faction, specifically the [Twilight Sword Saint] path.

The advantage of this path is that it has no entry barriers, and anyone can practice it. The disadvantage is that it has little potential for further advancement, and the difficulty of ascension is not high, especially after receiving narrative assistance, which makes it even easier. This is also what gives rise to the Imperial State's slogan:

"Everyone ascends to immortality, heroes gather, and an empire is formed."

The Empire favors two paths: the [Craftsmanship] path and the [Destruction] path. In other words, apart from these two paths, the competitive pressure for anyone coming to the Empire is not great, and there is no need to worry about the problem of involution—of course, no one will guide you on how to climb your path.

The Li Aoz from the [Dominator] faction won't consume any ascension resources. The Empire shouldn't make things difficult for him.

Besides the Empire, the other two narratives of the Abyss also control the final path.

The path of the [Dominator] lineage - [Radiant Torchbearer] - has fallen into the hands of the "Temple of Annihilation".

The entire training and inheritance of the [Plunder] system – [Plunderer]/[Gambler] – is controlled by the "United Company".

Besides the ultimate path, they also control a vast number of branch paths.

The Lower Star Abyss has a deeper understanding and control over the Dao Path, and the Narrative-level Civilization has also become different.

"I don't need to worry about not having anyone to guide me on my path, which is why the relatively free management of the Empire is the most suitable place for me to join."

Since Li Aoz doesn't seek resources for ascension, the Empire will have an easier time.

"So, there's nothing else I'm in a hurry for right now."

Li Aoz breathed a sigh of relief.

He has been working hard for more than half a year now.

During this period, he switched between the "Social" and "Alt" accounts, traveling back and forth between Azure Planet and White Candle Star, waging wars everywhere, while also managing production and even paying attention to player relationships—this time he lost more than half of the White Candle Star players in one go, all of whom were professional players who had been playing since the closed beta.

It will take at least a year to replenish the blood.

To be honest, he doesn't have enough teammates right now. He originally wanted to train Lucite and Hobbes, but those two are still wandering in some unknown alternate dimension.

Back on Azure Planet, his Grand Architect, Barnum, was still slacking off in the Grant Republic.

'The Bride' Alexia has fully devoted herself to judicial work and has basically withdrawn from the front lines of the battle. Moreover, it is more appropriate for her to be placed in the rear.

Gretvor would be happy to go to space with him, but he's currently busy dealing with the Royalists bandits.

Du Zexin's fate is unknown.

Ya Wen, who designed his fashion, recently went away to cultivate herself and will not be seen again for four hundred years.

"Why do I feel like I'm such a liability to my teammates..."

Li Aoz muttered to himself.

Just as Li Aoz was pondering where to abduct someone, Dean Nastisha sent someone to visit him, bringing some food and books, as well as news that surprised Li Aoz:

"White Candle Star is about to undergo industrial relocation. This planet will no longer be prepared as an educational planet, and the Supreme Council has abolished the Ministry of Education here."

Doing this... would completely turn White Candle Star into an ordinary planet.

For scholars and the public, abolishing the Ministry of Education is tantamount to dissolving the government.

This means... White Candle Star will become an independent planet from now on, play by itself, and Crystal Tower will find a new love.

After thinking for a moment, Li Aoz quickly understood the reason:

"They moved the fragments of the Eye of Discernment away."

The Night Butterfly Federation did not obtain all the Forbidden Knowledge and could not assemble a fragment for Eye of Discernment. This attack on White Candle Star White Candle Star already exposed its special nature to some extent. The timely relocation of fragments and resources, and the establishment of a separate entity, will allow White Candle Star to attract the attention of those who covet it.

In the future, White Candle Star will likely become a scapegoat and be targeted by all sorts of ill-intentioned people.

However, for Li Aoz, this was actually an opportunity.

"The money from Spirit Maggot will take a long time to arrive. In another year, my savings will reach 100 million Ammonium Gold."

He estimated his expected future income and made a decision immediately.

This amount is enough to buy White Candle Star.

In this way, legally, nominally, and in fact, White Candle Star is truly under his control. Moreover, with the star gates connecting White Candle Star to the outside world open, Li Aoz can expand his reselling business everywhere.

First, he needs to establish a connection with Azure Planet. Only in this way can he bring a massive number of players to the starry sky.

Secondly, it is necessary to establish a transportation hub with Valkyrie Fortress. Li Aoz to strive to make Azure Planet appear as an independent planet in the transportation stations of Valkyrie Fortress.

This will certainly require some technology, engineers, and a large number of workers to build, and it will also need regular maintenance. Once it is free from the control of the Crystal Tower Civilization, the maintenance costs will definitely skyrocket, resulting in a huge financial loss.

On the bright side, though: this way, conscription won't be applied to Li Aoz anymore.

The situation is getting better and better. Li Aoz's foundation has been well built. Now all he needs to do is continue to move forward with time so that he can keep gaining advantages.

"Let's lie low for a while. It'll be good to give myself a break."

With Nastisha's help, Li Aoz recently read many war veterans' memoirs and gradually discovered something different from the game in his previous life:

In the Abyss, Zeta-rank (6) is a very peculiar node.

Beneath it, all living beings are mortals, with short lives, less than a thousand years, and unable to accumulate knowledge and wealth.

Above that, up to the Kappa-rank (10), the leap in Combat Power was not so dramatic.

If Zeta (6) is an infantryman, then Ita (7), Sita (8), and Yota (9) are respectively positioned as tanks, fighters, and missile destroyers. Moreover, once they enter the battlefield, the Zeta-rank is consumed very quickly because they often engage in close combat and face-to-face battles.

Why is Castling an essential Aoneng for professional gamers?

Because only this Aoneng can disregard any conditions and direction, allowing one to freely move a distance.

Not everyone is a medium who can enter the spirit world to avoid harm.

Don't be fooled by those planet-destroying weapons in space, which can easily annihilate tens of millions of cubic kilometers of space with a single shot. In reality, the probability of them hitting an individual is very small. What really causes casualties are large-scale satellite artillery fire and meteorite impacts—these cheap weapons are the truly deadly things.

You don't need to run very far, just beyond the kill radius of these artillery shells. And those truly large-scale weapons of mass destruction won't be used against Zeta-rank enemies.

It's not cost-effective.

In space battles, Zetas generally suffer from slow movement speed and insufficient firepower. If they also lack the defensive cover of the Ita class, their survival rate is extremely low when facing a barrage of weapons from various enemies.

And when it came to ground warfare, it was even more brutal.

Ordinary Zeta-rank like Crescent Moon Li Aoz are common on the front lines. Nominally, there may be tens of thousands of Zeta-rank warriors, but in reality, apart from those on the [Destruction] path, everyone at this level basically has the ability to mobilize troops. The real situation may be a million-strong army clashing head-on, with armored vehicles fighting against golems, and machines colliding with ghosts.

They'll fight a war of attrition, until they're out of ammunition and supplies, then they'll go in for a one-on-one duel.

The actual duels were also quite boring. By the time they reached the duel stage, it meant that logistics had been cut off. Most of them were exhausted and often won the duel, only to be surrounded and killed by the follow-up troops due to the logistical failure.

These veterans of the battlefield provided Li Aoz with a completely new understanding.

In the interstellar battlefield, logistics are more important than raw power.

A major flaw of Magic Civilization is their reliance on magical teleportation of supplies, lacking proper rail transport. If the enemy kills the mage responsible for teleportation, then that logistical line can be left unattended until a new mage is trained and appointed.

"Logistics capabilities... it seems I need to work on improving them as well."

Who knows what problems the White Candle Star might encounter in the future? It's even possible that it will face war.

Li Aoz is destined to become the Lord of a Star, and he has to consider every issue.

When this period of dormancy ends, he will officially embark on the path of [Dominion] and ascend to godhood.