Speaker!

Dick Old Star, in distant orbit.

The Demon Subjugation Division's starship hatch opened, and staff members carrying all manner of documents and server fragments boarded the ship.

Among them were more than a dozen middle-aged men and women being escorted through the hatch.

They were all core members of the Erosion Dream Group. They had been controlled by the four major companies two months ago, and were now being directly handed over to the Reconnaissance Department.

Before the bridge viewport, Bao Hetong watched the young man standing in the void and reminded him once more:

"Dean Li, the benefits at our Reconnaissance Office are truly second to none. You must give it serious thought!"

"Rest assured, Section Chief Bao, I will."

Li Qingshan smiled and waved, watching the starship depart and leave the stellar system.

Then he turned his head to gaze at Dick New Star in its distant orbit.

Above the atmosphere, light and shadow still danced.

The Erosion Dream Group was thoroughly finished, but with Kong Lanxin and the others maintaining the basic operations of its many entertainment companies, the new star's entertainment programs had not come to a halt.

"Cherish this final carnival!"

Li Qingshan smiled faintly, took a step, crossed the void, and plunged into the atmosphere.

He returned to the Academy without a sound, entered the training room once more, sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, and entered the Martial Dao Space.

Day by day, time passed. The date of the Academy Council drew ever closer, and online discussions grew increasingly heated.

"Did you notice? Assistant Yang from the Erosion Dream Group seemed to have been taken away some time ago."

"Not just Assistant Yang. The other general managers haven't shown themselves for ages either. I'm guessing something must have happened to the Erosion Dream Group."

"Why care about that? The daily programs haven't stopped, have they? Whether the Erosion Dream Group exists or not doesn't affect the new star!"

"I bet it has something to do with the Mining Operation. It triggered an internal struggle among the five major companies, and this time, the Erosion Dream Group probably lost."

"Hehe, whenever they fought among themselves in the past, we were always the ones who suffered. But things are different now."

"That's right. The Academy Council is about to convene. Dean Li will definitely stand up for us!"

"The Mining Operation's profits are enormous. The four major companies definitely won't give them up. Everyone, think about how we should amend the contract terms first. Then we can leave messages on the Academy website and ask Dean Li to negotiate for us!"

"Right, right, right. Now that Dean Li is here, he won't let those big companies run wild and lord it over us. Our Dick New Star has finally seen the clouds part and the daylight break!"

The Academy Council concerned the future of every person on Dick Star. As the date approached, more and more people paid attention to it.

Across Dick New Star's thousand-plus cities, tens of billions of citizens were practically immersed in the internet all day long. Naturally, they would not miss it.

Related posts appeared one after another, and the comments beneath them refreshed every moment.

Not only the new star—even the old star's dwindling population was closely watching all sorts of statements online.

After all, most old-star residents longed for life on the new star. They simply had not yet had the chance to immigrate.

Amid the expectations of countless people, the date arrived: June 15.

The day of the Academy Council had come!

That day, light and shadow danced across the sky, city neon lights flickered, and the bustle continued as ever.

Yet the new star's billions of citizens, in a rare occurrence, did not turn their attention to games and entertainment. Instead, they fixed their eyes on projection devices, waiting for the meeting's outcome.

Suddenly,

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dull sounds rang out from every corner—the sound of projection devices powering down.

Across the new star's thousand-plus cities, the dancing lights in the sky vanished in an instant. The holographic projections in the cities and the advertising projections across building facades went dark as well.

The entire planet fell into an unprecedented silence. All the citizens stared blankly, unable to adapt for a moment.

The next instant,

Bang bang bang!

Another series of dull thuds rang out as giant projections suddenly appeared over every city.

It was neither an advertisement nor any entertainment program, but a simple meeting room.

The seat at the head of the conference table stood empty. Three men and one woman sat on either side below it.

"Kong Lanxin, Miss Kong!"

"Zhang Chongchao, chairman of Locke Gene!"

"And the chairmen of the Zheng and Li families!"

"It's a livestream! This is a livestream of the Academy Council!"

Cries of surprise rang out continuously. People nearby also withdrew their gazes from their Communicators, looked up at the sky, and watched expectantly.

"A livestream is great! This way, they can't pull any tricks and keep us in the dark!"

"Dean Li must have proposed it. I knew Dean Li would never join the four major companies in their filthy dealings!"

"Hm? You doubted Dean Li before?"

"Hehe, stop pretending. Weren't you worried too?"

"Wait, something seems off. The Federation Council has eleven seats, with two seats for each of the five major companies. Why have only four chairmen come this time?"

"Could they have already joined forces? Even if Dean Li took the Shi Family's two seats, he'd only have three in total. If the four major companies are all in cahoots..."

"This is bad. What will happen when it's time to vote? What about our contracts?"

For a moment, billions of citizens furrowed their brows, unable to suppress their worries.

Just then,

"Stop talking, Dean Li is here!"

In the sky projection, the meeting room doors were pushed open. A young man with a faint smile at the corners of his lips walked inside.

Kong Lanxin, along with Zhang Chongchao and the chairmen of the Zheng and Li families, hurriedly rose and said respectfully:

"Greetings, Chairman Li."

The noisy cities fell silent in an instant. Everyone's eyes widened, their faces full of confusion.

"Chairman? Since when did the Federation Council gain a 'Chairman'?"

Under everyone's astonished gazes,

Li Qingshan walked to the seat at the head of the table and sat down. At the same time, he raised a hand in a pressing gesture and smiled faintly.

"Sit."

After Kong Lanxin and the other four sat down in turn, Li Qingshan nodded and said:

"Before we begin the formal agenda, I will first announce something."

"From today onward, the titles 'old star' and 'new star' will be abolished. They will return to being called the 'primary star' and 'secondary star.'"

After a moment of stunned silence, Kong Lanxin and the others silently nodded. None of them spoke to express agreement or opposition.

Because this was not an agenda item. It was merely an "announcement"!

And beneath the new star's sky, the thousand-plus cities erupted completely after those words fell.

"How can this be? I've been a new-star resident since childhood. How can I become a secondary-star resident?"

"No, absolutely not! The old star is almost empty. Why should it still be the 'primary star'? Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?"

"What are the four major companies doing? Oppose it!"

"Enough shouting. Didn't you hear what they called him? Dean Li is the Chairman now!"

"So this is the authority of the Chairman? One word carries the weight of nine tripods?"

"Don't panic. It's only an empty title. What's there to care about? The key is contracts, benefits, and treatment!"

"That's right. Now that Dean Li is Chairman, it'll definitely be easier for him to fight for better terms for us."

After the brief uproar, everyone once again turned their eyes toward the sky, their anticipation growing even stronger.

And in the sky projection,

Li Qingshan was also looking at the camera, looking at everyone on the secondary star, with a slight smile.

"I know everyone has been eagerly awaiting this meeting. Now, I'll explain today's agenda."