Phillip's report interrupted his work, so Han Xiao thought for a moment and decided to take a break. He left the experimental area, went into his private lounge, found a recliner, and waved for his mechanical assistant to bring him snacks and drinks. He then opened the quantum network to browse the latest news.
During the version update, the player forum was frozen, and Han Xiao lost a major pastime. Apart from teleporting to the Dragon Calm to accompany Ames, he only had time to browse the news online.
After observing the situation of the Shattered World Battle, Han Xiao's heart stirred.
"Wow, it's already reached this stage. The Super Star Cluster Alliance is about to collapse. It seems they still couldn't defy fate. The end of the war is just around the corner."
Because of its own butterfly effect, Han Xiao could not accurately predict when the Shattered World Battle would end, but judging from the current situation, it would probably be settled within two or three years, and the Super Star Cluster Alliance would not be able to put up a fight for much longer.
The Shattered World Battle began in Galaxy Calendar 732, and six years have passed now, which is roughly in line with his initial prediction. The war would last at least three to five years, and at most ten to twenty years.
Although the early outbreak of the Intelligence Plague gave the Super Star Cluster Alliance more time to prepare, there were still too many disadvantages. The Super Star Cluster Alliance was fighting a defensive war, with the war zone far from its homeland and surrounded by the enemy, like an isolated island. In recent years, the Three Universal Civilizations had cut off a large number of the enemy's secret supply lines, resulting in the Super Star Cluster Alliance receiving less and less external support, and its situation was deteriorating.
The only way for the Super Star Cluster Alliance to break the deadlock is to start from the outside, sending troops from its homeland to open up new war zones in other star systems. However, that would completely change the nature of the situation, disrupting the order among advanced civilizations, causing the situation to escalate dramatically, and escalating the war to a higher level. No one dares to take the lead.
Everyone was just taking a small gamble; no one could afford to overturn the table.
Han Xiao stroked his chin and pondered, "After the war, Crimson Dynasty and the Federation of Light will be changing leadership. Urranrell will step down and retire, and the new head of state... tsk, what a troublesome fellow."
He didn't know if his butterfly effect would change the choice of the next head of state of the empire, but the chances were slim. With his experiences from his previous life, he naturally knew the identity of the new head of state.
To be fair, although there were occasional frictions between myself and Urranrell, we generally cooperated well. However, the next head of state is a hardliner, and his style of doing things is different from Urranrell's.
The Super Calamity and the Silver Revolutionary Army in the previous life were both events that occurred during the new leader's term, and the players in the previous life were most familiar with the next leader.
The new leader's less-than-tolerant attitude towards superhumans was one of the factors contributing to the outbreak of the Super Calamity. Furthermore, the next president of the Federation of Light was no better, prone to causing trouble.
"Once the new leader takes office, he will definitely contact all the Beyond Grade A allies, hoping to maintain the status quo."
Han Xiao shook his head. Throughout history, every period of transition between the old and the new has been a turbulent time.
He put the thought aside, opened the panel and took a look. He had now upgraded [Divine Transformation - Mechanical] to the twelfth level, and used the Mission Settlement Card to complete all the prerequisite tasks, which only cost him 7 Divine Transformation points.
The cost to upgrade to the thirteenth floor has become 8 points, with three prerequisite quests, meaning it will cost at least 5 Divine Transformation points.
Jess's technological treasure trove contains golden blueprints, a gold mine that needs to be digested slowly. Han Xiao has only studied a portion of it in the past few years, yet he already feels that his own foundation has become much richer.
If we accumulate contribution points to exchange for golden blueprints from the Three Universal Civilizations, who knows when we'd ever amass such a fortune.
Han Xiao is currently treating these technologies as his trump card, and hasn't revealed them yet.
He believed that once it was used, the major civilizations and other Beyond Grade A civilizations would probably get restless, and trouble would follow. It was better to develop steadily for now.
More than two months later, an Imperial fleet arrived at the Black Star Palace, carrying the latest batch of Imperial elites who had undergone the baptism of the Evolution Cube.
One after another, spaceships sailed along their orbits into the spaceport dock of the outer ring base of the Black Star Palace. The hatches opened with a whoosh, and elites from various departments of the Empire filed out and gathered on the platform.
As the only Beyond Grade A player in the team, Gaud naturally became the recognized leader. As soon as he stepped onto the dock, several legion receptionists went up to greet him.
"Distinguished elites of the Empire, welcome to the Black Star Army. The Legion Commander has been waiting for you. Please follow me."
After speaking, the legion's receptionist led the way, and the crowd obediently followed behind.
The group soon arrived at a fork in the road.
At this moment, the receptionist stopped, turned to look at Gaud, and said:
"Lord Gaud, the Legion Commander wishes to speak with you. Please come with me to see him. As for the others, my companions will escort you to the hall to await your baptism."
This is Legion territory. The two sides have cooperated for many years, so the Imperial elites naturally have no objections. Moreover, Black Star's reputation for backroom deals is known throughout the universe, so no one finds this strange.
"Then lead the way."
Gaud nodded, looking calm.
The group split into two groups and walked further and further away. Gaud followed the receptionist, and the sound of the crowd's orderly footsteps quickly faded into the distance, soon disappearing from his ears.
The two arrived at a private meeting room, opened the door and went in. Gaud immediately saw Han Xiao standing by the window with his back to him.
The starry sky outside the window was dazzling, and the Sight of Father's Back in front of the window had broad shoulders and a robust physique, exuding a masculine aura, looking like a martial artist.
Hearing the door open, Han Xiao turned around, a friendly smile on his face, and gestured for him to sit down.
"You must be Gaud. The Empire has produced another direct descendant of Beyond Grade A expert. Congratulations! Please have a seat and Tu Shu."
"We meet again. I wonder if you still remember me?" Gaud sat down, appearing very natural and relaxed.
"Of course I remember. We met once during the Kunde Race War."
Han Xiao sat down opposite him, secretly sizing him up, becoming increasingly certain that he had never seen this person in his previous life and wondered where he had come from.
Gaud nodded, a half-smile on his face, and said, "That's right. You must still remember what I said back then. I said we would become colleagues sooner or later, and now it has come true."
"I admire your confidence; I really enjoy making friends with people who have potential."
Han Xiao nodded in agreement, but secretly he was making plans in his mind.
From what I can see, this guy is a rising star with strong self-confidence. Even in front of me, he behaves very casually, treats people as equals, and doesn't use honorifics... This is quite common among freshmen in the Beyond Grade A. He seems a bit arrogant, but other than that, there's nothing strange about him.
In the Imperial Database, the life information of direct subordinates of Beyond Grade A is kept confidential. Even with Han Xiao's own ally privileges, he can only view some basic information. Gaud's file is very clean; he looks like a legitimate Imperial soldier.
Han Xiao was curious because such a person did not exist in his previous life, but his suspicions were limited to the other party's origins, and he had no other doubts for the time being.
The other person is a direct descendant of the empire, so he has no right to interrogate him. Given Han Xiao's personality, he would not make an enemy of a colleague just to satisfy his curiosity.
The conversation then transitioned into a normal, casual conversation, with the two chatting back and forth, enjoying each other's company.
After a while, Han Xiao felt the time was right and asked with a smile, "I'm a little curious about your abilities. Would you be willing to tell me?"
"My abilities will become known throughout the world sooner or later, but until then, let me keep them a secret for a while. This is also a requirement of the Empire." Gaud chuckled, indicating his refusal.
Seeing this, Han Xiao didn't press the matter, but he didn't give up and secretly decided to stab the other person in the back.
After chatting for a while, Gaud took the initiative to stop talking and chuckled, "Black Star, let's stop here for today. The others are still waiting. I want to get baptized as soon as possible. After that, I need to go to Planet Fein to apply to join the Beyond Grade A Association."
"Oh, that's easy. I'm the vice president, after all; I'll take care of the paperwork for you." Han Xiao stood up. "Since you're in a hurry, I won't keep you any longer. We can keep in touch more often in the future."
As they spoke, the two walked out of the room side by side and arrived at the hall where the imperial elites were gathered, where everyone had been waiting for a long time.
Han Xiao said a few words of encouragement to everyone, then raised his palm, and the Evolution Cube floated up and spun around.
He entered the secret command to activate it, and the dark Evolution Energy immediately poured out, sweeping out like Tide and engulfing everyone in front of him.
Karakara Karakara--
The Energy Transformation, and black cocoons appeared in the hall, with Gaud among them.
The room immediately fell silent, with only Han Xiao moving around freely.
"Hehe, little brat, can't move now, are you? You're completely at my mercy now."
Han Xiao chuckled twice, retrieved the Evolution Cube, and then manipulated the nanoparticles into a thin needle, which he then plunged into the black cocoon where Gaud was located.
He understands the feeling of evolution very well: the unbearable tingling and itching, the amplification of internal sensations, and the dulling of external perception.
Even if he gets caught, he's not worried. He has the final say, and he can easily gloss over this little thing.
Battle information popped up on the panel, and Han Xiao browsed through it carefully.
"Name: Gaud, Level... Wow, level 240? That's huge potential, on par with me back then... Wow, this guy's ability is Energy Manipulation?! That's a top-tier ability on the ultra-high-risk superpower list, and it actually exists! No wonder he was so secretive; this ability practically counters all professions..."
Han Xiao was secretly surprised.
Even highly dangerous superpowers have varying levels, and Energy Manipulation is undoubtedly the top-tier ability among them. It exists only in theory, but unexpectedly, a real case has now emerged. Gaud is probably the first person in history to possess this superpower.
His abilities are incredibly powerful, and his potential is top-tier. With continued training, he'll likely reach the Peak Beyond Grade A in no time. No wonder the Empire is investing heavily in him and keeping it strictly confidential; this kid truly has a bright future!
In battles at the Beyond Grade A, ability itself is also a decisive factor. Assuming that Gaud and Clottey's strength were at the same level, Gaud's win rate would be over 90%, which is the advantage of ability.
The Energy Manipulation is virtually invincible against all superpowered individuals, whether it be telekinesis, magic, or Primal Psionic Energy and dark energy. All of these fall within the scope of this Force Control. The only limitation is the user's own strength, which determines the upper limit of the manipulation power.
It's no exaggeration to say that if Gaud were to reach its peak, it would be fully qualified to compete for the title of the strongest in the Explored Universe.
No wonder they're so confident. Anyone with such limitless potential would have strong confidence in the future.
"Did the Empire just get incredibly lucky? Where did they find such a formidable talent...?"
Han Xiao was amazed for a moment, then felt somewhat puzzled.
That's not right. With such terrifying superpowers, Gaud in his previous life shouldn't have remained unknown.
Could it be that his journey was cut short, and my butterfly effect saved him?
Han Xiao continued reading with doubts, and was astonished to find that Gaud's attributes were a bit exaggerated. The other attributes were in line with the level, but the intelligence and mystery attributes were abnormal, one was 9000+ and the other was 13,000.
"Something's not right. When I first entered the Beyond Grade A at level 240, my highest intelligence attribute was only a little over 6,000, and my second highest stamina was a little over 4,000. How can his attributes be so outrageous? This is probably the level of a normal Beyond Grade A at around level 320!"
Han Xiao had only intended to observe the other party's abilities, but he discovered more suspicious points and became increasingly puzzled.
He scrolled through the messages for a while, then his gaze suddenly locked onto one of Gaud's passive perks, and he noticed something unusual:
[[Superpower - Rebirth]: Your body is reborn, your soul remains strong, and you have inherited a portion of your former intelligence and mental attributes.]
"This is..."
Han Xiao's eyes widened suddenly.
He could associate many things with the name of this specialty.
Something fishy is definitely going on!
This kid is probably not just some freshman Beyond Grade A; his secrets seem to be more astonishing than we imagined!