Han Xiao followed two Imperial officers through a heavily guarded corridor to a large office that had been converted into temporary offices for the three heads of state. The door to the innermost meeting room was tightly closed.
The Imperial Head's Secretary-General put down his work and stepped forward, speaking respectfully:
"Your Excellency Black Star, the three leaders are still talking, and they should be finishing soon. Please wait a moment."
"Okay, I'll sit here for a while."
Han Xiao found a seat and sat down. The secretary-general had someone bring him drinks and then sat down opposite Han Xiao.
To avoid making Black Star feel neglected, the secretary-general took it upon himself to act as a companion and started a conversation.
Having spent decades in the Empire, Han Xiao knew many high-ranking officials and this wasn't the first time he had dealt with the Secretary-General. They chatted casually, and the conversation quickly turned to the little incident that had occurred at the ceremony earlier.
"Your Excellency Black Star, what is your opinion of that reporter?" the Secretary-General asked.
"Just a poor, unlucky guy."
"Indeed," the Secretary General laughed. "When he was selected, his career was destined to be affected, so it's not hard to understand why he ultimately decided to take the gamble that would maximize his profits."
"Huh? I thought someone in your position had to maintain political correctness, and that saying he would proactively expose the instigator's crimes was the right thing to do."
"Heh, we value political correctness, but we need to get things done. The higher-ups don't like people who only shout slogans." The secretary-general shook his head and said, "He's not a civilized citizen, he lacks patriotism, and the chances of him voluntarily exposing something are very low. What would he gain from reporting to us?"
"A small bonus, or a banner?" Han Xiao joked casually.
"Haha, you're quite humorous... But even that's wishful thinking. He's more likely to get a demotion. He was originally a top-tier reporter for his news channel, specializing in official intelligence coverage like ours—a top-level position. But if he exposes this, he won't receive any preferential treatment... You understand, we're a huge system. Each department not only works for the entire civilization but also considers its own performance. So why would the news department take the risk of letting a reporter with questionable credentials continue to cover official events? They'll probably talk to the higher-ups at the reporter's media channel, and his company will voluntarily transfer him back to handle other news topics."
Doesn't this mean this person deserves to be given important responsibilities?
"Is it necessary? Wouldn't it be simpler to replace him with someone else? Is he some irreplaceable role?"
"Oh, that's a bit cold-blooded. Aren't you afraid of hurting other people's feelings?" Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.
"Haha, do you think we'll fight over a junior reporter to show others that we're protecting her, thereby increasing outsiders' confidence in cooperating with us, and making it more likely that someone else will come to us to expose something like this in the future?" The secretary-general chuckled.
"Isn't this better?" Han Xiao asked with great interest.
"Different levels of authority have different logics of handling affairs. At our level, our approach to handling affairs is often the opposite of the thinking logic of ordinary people. It is basically the result of the combined effect of multiple factors." The secretary-general blinked. "If it is a person of higher status or an organization with a certain amount of power, we may handle it on a special basis, as you said."
But a mere reporter? We won't waste our energy on him. Our media battle with the Super Star Cluster has been ongoing covertly, and this isn't the first time something like this has happened. If he didn't have connections, he might not even have secured a spot in our protection program... Ultimately, he's an unimportant figure, so we won't pay him much attention."
"How come I never knew you were so bold?" Han Xiao looked him up and down.
"To be honest, while public power is immense, the resources available to exercise it are ultimately limited. It's a matter of allocation." The Secretary-General clicked his tongue and said, "Putting yourself in their shoes, there's no benefit in proactively exposing someone, so it's better to agree to the mastermind's demands. At least on the surface, you can get a large sum of money, and what you're doing is within the scope of your normal duties, without overstepping any boundaries... After all, it's a journalist's freedom to ask whatever questions they want; we can't force them. The rule of press freedom shouldn't be easily broken."
"Can't I?"
"... At least that's the official way. Official events don't have a budget for friendly questions; they can only rely on authority to make people behave themselves." The Secretary-General smiled slightly, "But authority isn't always useful. There are quite a few reporters who dare to make things difficult for us. Some are doing it for performance targets, some are being instructed by others; all sorts of situations have happened. Nothing is set in stone."
Han Xiao stroked his chin and suddenly said, "Why do I feel like there's something else behind what you said to me?"
"Haha, you saw right through me. Actually, I wanted to test how the Black Star Army planned to deal with this reporter... With your decisive methods, you must have already made arrangements," the Secretary-General laughed.
What do you mean by "decisive and efficient"? You might as well just say I'm petty...
Han Xiao secretly grumbled to himself, but casually mentioned his plan briefly.
"It's good that you didn't fall for the trap. It seems my reminder was unnecessary." The Secretary-General smiled and nodded.
"... It's so tiring to chat with you. Don't hold back, just say what you want to say." Han Xiao said helplessly.
"Hehe, we hope to handle this matter discreetly and avoid making any personal threats against this reporter, so we need your cooperation. If this person's life is threatened, it could easily be used against them..."
"I think it's no use if you don't want to do it. Maybe the mastermind behind it is already planning to kill someone and frame someone else, and can still smear your name."
The Secretary-General clasped his hands and said, "I understand your concerns. There is indeed a possibility, but the chances are very low... First, such accusations are insignificant and detrimental to the overall situation. We simply don't want to create unnecessary trouble. However, if someone is framing someone, there will inevitably be flaws, making it easy to overturn the case. Besides, how many people do you think would care about a reporter's life or death? Once publicity is launched, it will definitely expose the forces behind it; anyone with eyes can see that. Furthermore, because the people involved are reporters, doing this will damage the media industry's reputation. Publicity requires their cooperation... With so many factors, the mastermind doesn't want to lose more than they gain. Similarly, this is why we're downplaying the matter."
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao remained noncommittal. The higher one's level, the broader one's knowledge and experience. The improvement in his own skills over the years has come to some extent from his interactions with people from different social strata, which have broadened his horizons through observation and learning.
After chatting for a few more minutes, Han Xiao suddenly remembered something, changed the subject, and asked:
"Urranrell's term should be coming to an end soon."
In my previous life, not long after the Shattered World storyline ended, the Empire got a new leader, and judging by the time it's over, it should be soon.
The secretary-general paused, instinctively lowering his voice. "I can't say exactly how much longer."
"Alright, let's talk about you. With Urranrell stepping down, your position will change, right? Have you heard anything about it?"
"Once the head of state steps down, my tenure as secretary-general will be over. My job change isn't finalized yet, but it'll definitely be a regional assignment, most likely a lateral transfer at the same level..."
Just as Han Xiao was about to casually ask a question, the door to the reception room finally swung open.
The secretary-general stopped the conversation at the right moment and gestured for him to enter. Han Xiao got up and walked into the reception room. He immediately saw the three leaders sitting behind the table, each accompanied by their own Beyond Grade A bodyguard.
The door closed behind him, and Han Xiao casually greeted him.
Dark Emperor Clottey nodded slightly, showing no intention of speaking.
Oulu, however, glanced at Han Xiao from head to toe with a scrutinizing look in his eyes, and slowly said, "You captured quite a few of my friends a while ago, but it's a pity I wasn't there, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to succeed."
"Hello to you too, it's nice to meet you for the first time." Sensing the unfriendly tone in Oulu's voice, Han Xiao remained unmoved, maintaining his cloud-like smile and not responding at all.
"Snort."
Oulu snorted, not responding further, and tilted his head slightly, revealing an arrogant attitude with his nostrils pointing to the sky... even though he didn't have nostrils.
The first impression this guy left on Han Xiao was arrogance.
Although Kasuyi said that Oulu was relatively mild-mannered, the point of reference was, after all, the Dark Emperor, who was known for his cold attitude. Han Xiao didn't expect Oulu to be very enthusiastic. Moreover, he had recently captured several Glory allies, so it was no wonder that Oulu would be in a good mood.
Meanwhile, Urnos didn't even open his eyes, as if he were asleep, completely ignoring him and acting as if he hadn't seen him at all.
Of the three, Han Xiao was most curious about Urnos. In his previous life, both the Dark Emperor and Oulu, his two personal guards, went to the front lines and sacrificed themselves in the World Tree War. Only Urnos never went into battle, and his past achievements were few and far between, making him extremely mysterious.
Generally speaking, Urnos is rarely included when discussing Beyond Grade A powerhouses because he rarely fights, making him an outlier like Sorokin, although their reputations are at opposite ends of the spectrum.
At this moment, the Imperial Head of State Urranrell, spoke:
"Black Star, how do you feel about receiving the Galaxy Medal?"
"I'm flattered." Han Xiao said expressionlessly.
"But you don't seem very satisfied?"
"... You saw through me. Yes, I am worried."
What are you worried about?
"If I make new contributions to the universe in the future, will you give me a second or third Galaxy Medal...? I feel like I need to set up a special warehouse to store these things, because one day I might not be able to fit them all. It's a real headache," Han Xiao sighed.
Urranrell: "?"
Are you speaking human language?
"Stop with the pleasantries. You didn't call me here just to encourage me, did you? Just say what you need to say." Han Xiao shrugged. He'd been putting on an act all day and didn't want to be polite now.
Bader pondered for a moment, then said, "Let's get straight to the point. I believe you've already learned from other sources that our conflict with the Super Star Cluster Alliance is about to begin. As the leader of the private warlord organizations in the Shattered World, the Black Star Army needs your assistance."
Han Xiao frowned.
The Three Universal Civilizations had been trying to get the Beyond Grade A Association to help them deal with the Super Star Cluster, and even decided to use the monopoly of professional knowledge as a bargaining chip, but the association had never agreed. The Three Universal Civilizations then took no further action, but now they have started again.
"You should know about the results of the discussions Beyond Grade A Development Federation a while ago, right? I thought that was the answer," Han Xiao said.
"Indeed, we know the Beyond Grade A Association intends to maintain neutrality, but that's your own agreement, not our requirement," the leader of the Arcane Sect said calmly.
Urranrell chimed in, "Black Star, we hope you can put in a good word for us on this."
The Crimson Dynasty divided its territory among its Beyond Grade A allies in the hope that they would contribute during this time. However, the establishment of the Development Federation exceeded expectations, and the originally planned allies now wanted to remain neutral, which naturally displeased them.
Although the Black Star Army's territory was a reward for meritorious service, there was a purpose to giving it away. If it did not achieve the effect that the Empire wanted, they would naturally not give up.
"I thought we had reached a consensus on this issue, but it seems you have misunderstood my position on m. het. com." Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.
"Don't misunderstand, we understand what you mean, but this doesn't exceed the scope of our agreement," Bader said in a deep voice.
The Three Universal Civilizations are promoting Black Star in this way because they want to find a spokesperson to speak for them within the association. They want to use Han Xiao as a link to influence and Development Federation. This is the time when a spokesperson is needed – the Super Star Cluster also has Beyond Grade A, so the Three Universal Civilizations will not easily allow their allies to go on strike.
"If I do that, I will be betraying the united front and losing more than I gain." Han Xiao waved his hand.
"Don't worry, we've considered that and have already chosen an entry point for you..." The leader of the Arcane Sect leaned forward. "Since you've publicly stated that you have a personal grudge against the Modo Civilization, you can use that as a pretext. With a little maneuvering, you can use a plausible excuse to get more Beyond Grade A involved in the turmoil without damaging your reputation within the association."
"You think you can just say there won't be any damage? No way." Han Xiao waved his hand.
"Then let's compromise. We won't force you to be involved in the entire incident, but if the Beyond Grade A of the Super Star Cluster Alliance take action, I hope the Development Federation will respond. Since you've raised the slogan of mediating all Beyond Grade A conflicts, you should see it through to the end. This is exactly within your responsibilities, and you have a legitimate reason to act."
Han Xiao immediately understood the Three Universal Civilizations ' plans. He snorted inwardly, but feigned a troubled expression and explained, "Under these circumstances, the Beyond Grade A willing to stand up for the Super Star Cluster are undoubtedly their direct subordinates. You also have your own direct subordinates. Wouldn't it be perfect for direct subordinates to fight each other? Forcing the Association to intervene seems somewhat biased and inappropriate."
Bader raised his voice, his displeasure evident. "If that's how it works, then what's the point of having allies like you?"
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, his tone defiant. "If you're so capable, then revoke all the Beyond Grade A alliances."
Bader was immediately speechless.
You're awesome, I'll shut up.