The Virgo Cluster, especially its central galaxy, M87, gradually returned to peace.
But that did not mean the war had stopped.
On the contrary, at this very moment, the war spanning the entire Laniakea Supercluster had only just begun.
The Gardener Faction's withdrawal made the Virgo Cluster the only haven in the supercluster.
As the Cleaners' branches in these galaxies breathed a sigh of relief, they also began rebuilding and repairing the universe-encircling accelerator.
As for Human Civilization...
It had once again gained an opportunity to develop in peace.
Although its old Enrojet disguise was gone, Human Civilization's standing within the Silicon-Based Alliance had risen considerably.
The reason...
Was, of course, the Wide-Area Tachyon Broadcast sent by the [Tenth Empire] from the Hercules Supercluster.
It explicitly stated that members of the Silicon-Based Alliance had both a responsibility and an obligation to shelter Human Civilization and ensure it was protected from attacks by the Gardener Faction.
Precisely because of this, the region around the Human Fleet in the M87 Galaxy suddenly became much more "crowded"-after suffering a bitter setback over the wormhole, the Saikol Civilization moved the bulk of its civilization directly to the vicinity of the Human Fleet.
As for Silicon Ray...
That went without saying.
Even without orders from the Tenth Empire, he certainly would not stray far from the Human Fleet, having firmly decided to cling to its coattails.
Several centuries later, in Earth Calendar year 14200.
A spherical megastructure nearly the size of a star hovered silently in the emptiness of space.
Illuminated by more than a dozen surrounding stars, this region was not particularly dark.
Of course, illumination was only these stars' secondary function. Their primary purpose was to provide startup energy for the spherical megastructure at the center.
Yes, startup energy!
This megastructure, embodying centuries