In the Dark Multiverse that was filled with despair and destruction, the projection of Ian's will was quietly suspended in Void, staring at the devastated earth below. Although he saw countless nodes where he was heading for decadence, madness, or tragic death, his heart did not stir up much.
"There is no need to intervene for the time being," Ian's expression was cold and profound, and his pupils that seemed to be able to penetrate cause and effect Blink shone with the light of reason.
"Now is not the time to deal with these Multiverse 'variants', especially those who have completely fallen into the dark, crazy, twisted and cruel selves.
Before Empire has truly reached the pinnacle of the universe, premature contact with these extreme Self will only add unnecessary variables."
Morgana standing aside solemnly nodded, his purple House-elf-like face also full of solemnity. "Indeed, that will be a nightmare that can make any soul tremble. However, no matter what, we must formulate a detailed development and research plan for this 'Dark Multiverse'."
Ian turned around and cast his gaze deeper into Void, "This is natural. First, we must deeply analyze the formation mechanism of this dimension and figure out why it has such a huge logical deviation from the normal Multiverse. Secondly, this will become Empire's most important 'resource collection ground'. The chaos and disorder here are the natural cover for us to wantonly dig and harvest all kinds of rare minerals and energy crystals."
"If all goes well, we may soon be able to build a second or even third Tenth Tier Supreme Floating City based on the 'Netheril'." Morgana's eyes Blink were filled with excited data flow, but she then reminded her rationally, "However, we must be wary of the mysterious power that has previously prevented us from overly interfering with Multiverse."
"In this ruins full of killing and atrocities, probably no one cares about our plundering." Ian snorted, "To be on the safe side, we control the speed of resource collection within a reasonable range. This kind of 'boiling frogs in warm water' style harvesting can not only maintain sustainable development, but also avoid the sight of those in high positions."
However, in Ian's view, these material resources were only the most insignificant harvest in this Dark Dimension. He raised his head, his eyes seemed to penetrate the atmosphere, looking at the starry sky obscured by clouds, his eyes were slightly squinted, as if he was staring at some invisible and magnificent structure.
"Mana Network." Morgana instantly captured the owner's thoughts and exclaimed in a low voice.
"That's right. The discovery of Mana Network means the real 'Infinity'." Ian's tone revealed an undisguised ambition. "It represents the inexhaustible Aether energy and the possibility of manifesting this energy into any material. Our first task is to find a specific timeline - where the superior gods have either not yet noticed the existence of Mana Network, or have completely lost control of it. By then, Empire will replace Divine Authority and become the only and eternal legal user of Mana Network."
Morgana quickly recorded this highest priority instruction on the holographic notepad, "Understood. When we return to the main plane, I will immediately form a dedicated inter-dimensional scientific research team. In addition, I suggest setting up a hunting team in this area. If is found here Variants of Herpo or Guznader, we must capture them at all costs. When Milky Way Galaxy is still under the surveillance of those False God, these variant gods are our best living resources to obtain Divine Power."
Ian glanced at her appreciatively, "The plan is good, but remember, in Dark Multiverse, the strength of these guys is likely to be far beyond normal due to the blessing of negative laws. Finally, notify 'Time-Space Aurors' to deploy a defense matrix against Dark Dimension at every key coordinate of the Empire. We can penetrate, but no one can guarantee that the monsters there will not try to climb out."
After completing the preliminary reconnaissance of Dark Multiverse, Ian dispersed Astral Projection, and his consciousness returned to Floating City, which was staying on the orbit of Green Acid Star.
After completely taking over the monitoring authority of this experimental planet, he did not stay, but directly directed Floating City to jump to the current secret settlement of the Sage Clan.
It was the fourth planet located in Kane Belt, which the wise men named "Drog Star". As soon as it arrived, Ian was keenly aware of the extremely unnatural fluctuations in the atmosphere. "This planet has just experienced a large-scale 'terraforming' change, and its various parameters are being forcibly revised to a state close to their original parent star."
"Morgana, how long will it take to penetrate their global network?" Ian asked calmly.
"Based on the underlying protocol we have mastered before, give me half an hour." Morgana responded.
Ian sat calmly on the armchair, casually picked up an ancient book about <Microparticle and Spell Resonance> and started reading it. "Very good, this time is enough for me to finish reading a chapter."
Half an hour later, Morgana's figure appeared as promised.
"Done?" Ian closed the book in his hand.
"Not only did it work, I also discovered some very 'interesting' things." There was a hint of sarcasm in Morgana's voice, "Below the North Pole of the planet, there is a core restricted area with a very high level of technology. With the strength of my current algorithm, it would take several days to brute forcely crack its underlying firewall without causing an alarm."
Ian raised his eyebrows, with a flash of surprise in his eyes. Although Sage Clan advocates technology, their technical reserves have always stayed within a predictable range. This kind of discontinuous technological leap completely violates the basic laws of civilization evolution.
"Who exactly lives there?"
"Sage Clan's recognized 'The Chosen One' is also their greatest living scientist - Albert Schwartz." Morgana projected a holographic file into the air.
At the center of the file is a man about thirty-five years old. He has blond hair and blue eyes, a handsome and upright face, but he exudes an almost mechanical solemnity and rigidity. Just by looking at the photo, you can feel this man's extreme rationality and indifference.
"During the 'Shadowfall' campaign, he single-handedly rescued countless fellow wise men, saved almost all the fires of civilization, and even made explosive improvements to the original technology during his exile. But strangely, his public support rate has been plummeting recently." Morgana continued to report.
"Is it because of those inhumane 'Cosmic Energy' experiments?" Ian instantly grasped the point.
"Yes. Although Sage Clan is in Extremis, their hatred of supernatural powers has not been eradicated in their bones. Albert is an extreme pragmatist, and he is forcibly implementing the evolution plan of the entire race."
Ian shook his head and sighed, "Such a civilization that is stubborn and pursues extremes is destined to not last long in the cruel sea of stars. Let's go and meet this the Chosen One."
Relying on high-level stealth spells and Space Folding technology, Ian Silencio successfully infiltrated Albert's secret laboratory, which is said to have the strongest defense on the planet.
There, he saw Albert, who was engrossed in precise experiments. Just after meeting him, Ian's expression became strange.
"You noticed it too?" Ian whispered in Sea of Consciousness.
"Yes, Master. His spiritual sea is shrouded in a layer of extremely strange power. It is not a simple defensive technique, but a higher-dimensional law imprint." Morgana's voice also became serious.
Albert seemed to sense some kind of ethereal peeping. He suddenly stopped what he was doing and looked around warily. However, under Ian's almost absolute domain shielding, he naturally found nothing.
"It's the power of Authority." Ian pointed out the truth sharply.
In the next few hours, Ian waited beside Albert like a ghost. This man showed the energy of Superman and barely rested until late at night.
However, after only sleeping for less than three hours, he woke up as if he was electrocuted. With confusion and fanaticism intertwined in his eyes, he frantically sketched an extremely complex Dark Matter energy structure diagram on the holographic panel.
"Another breakthrough from the 'dream'..." Albert murmured in a low voice, his voice trembling and hoarse.
Upon seeing this, Ian had an expected sneer on his lips. He had already seen through the underlying logic of this cross-dimensional game. He quietly evacuated the laboratory, returned to Floating City, and contacted Olivia as soon as possible.
"How is the situation?" Olivia's cold voice came from the communicator.
"The mystery has been solved. There are several Tenth Tier gods from Central Star Domain, who have obviously mastered some way to bypass the Guznader blockade. They use 'Dream Revelation' and through this secret initiation method, they continuously deliver advanced technology to Albert."
Ian paused and his tone became cold. "Their goal is very clear - to cultivate a strong enough puppet behind Guznader to intervene in Milky Way Galaxy's situation."
Olivia let out a snort of disgust, "The situation is already chaotic enough. The last thing we need is the interference of these outside gods. Have you found out who it is?"
"Although the evidence is not sufficient, the scope can be narrowed down to a very small number of gods who have mastered 'craftsman' or 'technology' Authority." Ian analyzed calmly.
"So, what are you going to do with the Sage Clan?" Olivia looked directly at the screen.
"Part of me wants to directly eliminate this potential cancer and prevent future troubles." A murderous intention flashed across Ian's deep pupils. After all, such a hostile race that cannot be assimilated by conventional means is a huge hidden danger in any expansion plan.
"But the other part of me saw an excellent opportunity." Ian changed the topic, and a calculating smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. "If my judgment is correct, those external gods will never give Albert the core technology that surpasses Ninth Tier in order to prevent the puppet from backlash. In this case, as long as we have 'Netheril' in hand, this group of wise men is just a group of 'technical Leech' serving Empire. All we have to do is to monitor their every move, and while harvesting the research results of Albert, we will also drain the knowledge reserves of those external gods."
"Raising a tiger brings trouble?" Olivia raised his eyebrows.
"No, they are captive hounds." Ian responded indifferently. "When they lose their use value, if they are willing to surrender, Empire would not mind giving them a citizen seat; if they are still stubborn, they will be directly exiled to the secondary dimension along with the people and planets, allowing them to pursue their so-called 'pure Truth' in eternal loneliness. To me, that is not important."
In this understatement, the two decided the final fate of a civilization that was once glorious but has now become a pawn. Among this cruel and magnificent stars, this is the only final chapter that the weak can write.