The Black Star Army is conducting a six-day military exercise exclusively for the Immortals within its territory, with millions of Legion players participating in a confrontational format.
The original intention was to organize a large-scale collective action for players and find a reason to distribute experience rewards on a large scale. However, in the current sensitive situation, the legion's military exercise has been interpreted in various ways by the outside world.
On the quantum network, many interstellar citizens believe that the Legion's exercises are an indirect demonstration against the Three Universal Civilizations, while many others believe that the Black Star Army is warming up for a major operation soon, and various rumors are rampant.
Despite the rampant rumors, the Beyond Grade A Association remained silent, letting outsiders speculate as they pleased.
About two weeks later, just as public enthusiasm was waning, a major, unexpected event occurred almost without warning— the Three Universal Civilizations jointly issued a Level 2 decree to the entire universe, specifically targeting the Beyond Grade A Association with sanctions!
The Beyond Grade A Association and the Three Universal Civilizations have been engaged in open and covert struggles for over a year. Although many interstellar citizens have been watching the drama unfold, neither side has ever shown a confrontational attitude in public, nor have they challenged each other; instead, they have mostly remained silent.
However, the sudden public confrontation Three Universal Civilizations is both unexpected and understandable to many.
Countless leaders of various factions, upon seeing the contents of the decree, all narrowed their eyes, taken aback by the severity of the sanctions, and the same thought arose in their minds:
How ruthless!
The Three Universal Civilizations finally used their political, economic, and other influence, which radiates throughout the universe, to begin a comprehensive blockade...
Black Star Palace, the Legion Commander's Exclusive Workshop.
Han Xiao is intently studying a golden mechanical blueprint, striving towards the pinnacle of his Void Divine Transformation.
Suddenly, Phillip appeared, his little face filled with anxiety, and hurriedly said:
"Master, something terrible has happened! The Three Universal Civilizations have issued a joint sanctions order against us!"
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao's eyes flashed. He put down the parts in his hand, pinched Phillip's forehead with two fingers, and pulled him up in front of him.
"This day has finally come... Speak, what terms have the Three Universal Civilizations established?"
"Look, what a scary buzzing sound!"
Phillip waved his little hand and pulled it down from top to bottom, and a virtual screen unfolded like a scroll, displaying a densely packed document. At the bottom were the joint seals and signatures of the Three Universal Civilizations, proving that this was a valid decree authorized by the Three Universal Civilizations and protected by Interstellar General Law, with a special note stating that it would take effect immediately from the date of signing.
Han Xiao read it from the beginning. The first thing he saw was a statement from the Three Universal Civilizations, explaining the reasons for issuing this decree.
[To minimize the danger posed by individual superpowers to interstellar society, the Ultimate Knowledge of the Five Superpower Systems has always been jointly controlled by the Three Universal Civilizations, and other forces are prohibited from disseminating it at will. This is the sixth provision of the "Interstellar Superpower Management Act - Knowledge Dissemination Agreement." However, the Beyond Grade A Development Federation (hereinafter referred to as the "Association") has been disseminating the Ultimate Knowledge of each system privately for many years without our permission. We have repeatedly requested the Association to rectify this chaotic situation, but the Association has repeatedly ignored our requests. A year ago, we issued an ultimatum to the Association, which was also ignored. Now that the ultimatum period has expired, in view of the Association's egregious behavior, we have decided to impose sanctions.]
"Hmph, just as I expected. I thought the Three Universal Civilizations had some new tricks up their sleeves."
Han Xiao wasn't surprised at all. He snorted and continued reading.
In the document, the Three Universal Civilizations righteously condemned the association, cited numerous examples to list the regulations that the association had violated, and then emphasized that the Beyond Grade A Association was a civilian organization, not protected by the Peace Treaty and other interstellar civilization agreements, and did not possess the jurisdiction, political power, or other rights of a civilizational power.
Immediately afterwards, the Three Universal Civilizations announced that, effective immediately, the Beyond Grade A Association had been added to the "List of Unreliable Civilian Organizations" and the "List of Vicious Armed Organizations."
These two lists are specifically created for organizations whose business nature is questionable. Although not as serious as an arrest warrant, once on the list, their rights in interstellar society will be greatly affected, similar to being "credit invalidated" or "debt defaulter," and they will be subject to varying degrees of sanctions.
The sanctions against the Beyond Grade A Association cover multiple areas, including politics, economics, and the size of their armed forces, resulting in a broad scope of impact.
In the political sphere, most Beyond Grade A civilizations generally show some consideration for their own mother civilizations. However, this decree requires Beyond Grade A forces to cease interfering in the politics of multiple civilizations, otherwise the political rights of the relevant civilizations will be downgraded. A list of key civilizations to be monitored has been compiled, with the Planet Aquamarine civilization being the first to be targeted.
Beyond Grade A forces, which are inherently civilized, will be subject to scrutiny. It is claimed that if Beyond Grade A leader has a cooperative relationship with certain "unreliable organizations," their political power will also be downgraded. The Star Pupil Civilization of Sisko is an example of this.
In terms of economics, the terms are much more complex and cumbersome, accounting for half of the content and covering a wide range of aspects.
The first notice was issued to all regional civilizations, requiring them to cooperate with the government's orders, cease all forms of cooperation with Beyond Grade A Beyond Grade A, refrain from providing public services such as stargate transportation to Beyond Grade A forces, and prohibit them from opening trading channels to Super A-level forces to sell any resources. At the same time, they must cooperate with the government's orders to conduct multiple reviews of the assets of Beyond Grade A forces remaining within their civilization's territory; otherwise, they will be summoned for talks.
In the private sector, any conglomerate or enterprise that maintains business dealings with the Beyond Grade A Association will have its credit rating downgraded by the Interstellar Bank. Conglomerates that repeatedly violate the rules will be added to the list of untrustworthy enterprises. Only by terminating the cooperative relationship can they apply to initiate an investigation process, restore their credit, and even obtain certain subsidies. Furthermore, the Three Universal Civilizations will guarantee that these enterprises will not be threatened by the military force of the Beyond Grade A forces afterward, and will also provide legal assistance for violating commercial contracts, minimizing the need to pay compensation to the Beyond Grade A forces.
At the same time, the credit rating of all funds accounts under the Beyond Grade A forces will be downgraded, and every fund transfer will be subject to review and supervision.
Regarding the size of its armed forces, the Three Universal Civilizations believed that the Beyond Grade A Association, as a civilian organization, was too large and had already threatened the stability of interstellar society, violating the "Non-Governmental Force Armed Scale Agreement," and therefore had to be dismantled and its armed forces reduced.
Before the disbandment is completed, all members under the Beyond Grade A forces (not limited to superhumans) will simultaneously receive a credit rating downgrade, including but not limited to restrictions such as their identity and permissions failing the stargate verification, being prohibited from docking at certain civilizations' transit stations, being prohibited from transiting through certain civilizations, and having restrictions on the transfer of funds in their accounts.
In addition to these, there were many other miscellaneous clauses. This time, the Three Universal Civilizations even attacked their allies. However, this was not an unforeseen situation, given that more and more allies were willing to obey orders but not proclamations.
At the end of the document, the Three Universal Civilizations stated that the above terms only apply to members of the Beyond Grade A Association and do not involve neutral Beyond Grade A individuals. As long as they leave the association and undergo a review, they can restore their normal treatment. As for ordinary superhumans, if they are willing to switch allegiance to the Three Universal Civilizations or other civilizations, they can not only restore their credit but also enjoy more benefits and subsidies.
After reading the entire document, Han Xiao had only one opinion about this decree: it was domineering!
"Tsk, these Three Universal Civilizations are going to go all out from the start."
Han Xiao shook his head.
These terms are straightforward; they simply use power to coerce the interstellar community into blocking the association, thereby curbing its development. While they have little impact on the Beyond Grade A individuals themselves, they are extremely destructive to any faction.
To summarize the practices of the Three Universal Civilizations, they can be understood as...
--The referees, witnesses, organizers, co-organizers—all the organizations are my people. How can you compete with me?!
"I made this assumption many years ago, and alas, it still came true."
Han Xiao was prepared for this, so he wasn't surprised. Moreover, since the Three Universal Civilizations dared to formulate such terms, they were naturally confident in implementing them.
Even when facing the Super Star Cluster Alliance, the Three Universal Civilizations had never resorted to such ruthless measures. After all, the Supercluster civilizations enjoyed a series of civilization protection agreements, such as the Peace Treaty, and if the Three Universal Civilizations violated these regulations, they would only be asking for trouble. However, at the beginning of the document, the Three Universal Civilizations clearly stated that the Beyond Grade A Association was a civilian force without authority and was not protected by any civilization protection agreements. Therefore, the nature of the matter was defined, and the methods used did not cross the line.
As interstellar society has developed to its current state, the Three Universal Civilizations have long possessed financial, political, technological, and military hegemony, radiating influence in all aspects and deeply intertwined with civilizations at all levels. Civilizations at all levels may not give them face, but they need to weigh the consequences. Seeking advantage and avoiding harm is a rational tendency that most civilizations inevitably possess, Han Xiao can foresee that quite a few civilizations will respond to this decree.
As for civilian forces and the general Volkswagen, those who dare to go against the rulers of the universe are naturally a tiny minority. The attitude of the Three Universal Civilizations is enough to scare away many people. After all, most people are just looking for a good job, and it would be too much of a waste to become "marginalized" people in interstellar society because of this.
Han Xiao pondered silently:
"The Three Universal Civilizations hesitated for a year before finally deciding to bring their conflicts into the open. We don't know if the players have any influence on this... With this decree, the Three Universal Civilizations have finally openly broken ties with us."
The sanctions imposed by the Three Universal Civilizations were within his expectations, but even if he had anticipated them, there wasn't a good way to resolve them. A full-scale dimensional reduction attack launched by the Three Universal Civilizations wouldn't be easy to deal with. However, in recent years, he had been committed to enhancing the independence of the association's interest alliance in order to cope with this risk, and had made a lot of preparations in secret, so that he wasn't caught off guard now.
"Didi--"
Just then, the communicator suddenly rang.
Han Xiao opened the caller ID and was surprised to see it was a call from Bennett.
As soon as the communication was established and Bennett's projection appeared, he eagerly asked:
"Black Star, have you seen the sanctions jointly issued by the Three Universal Civilizations?"
"I've seen it." Han Xiao nodded.
As he spoke, he glanced at Bennett.
After replenishing his vitality, Bennett's lifespan was extended considerably. Decades have passed, and he is still alive and in relatively good health.
Every year, Han Xiao thought this guy was about to die of old age, Bennett would always jump out and shout, "He's not dead yet," giving him a false alarm. If this trend continues, it's likely that Nero will stage a scene where the world is not a hundred-year-old prince.
"What are you planning to do?" Bennett asked worriedly.
"So be it." Han Xiao shrugged, raising an eyebrow. "But the Planet Aquamarine civilization is also within the scope of sanctions. What do you say about that?"
Bennett gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, "After a while, Planet Aquamarine will withdraw from the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Council in protest, indicating that it does not accept this sanction!"
"You want to stick with me through thick and thin?" Han Xiao smiled.
Bennett said with a serious expression, "Although Planet Aquamarine is still very weak, we also have dignity. We will not deny the great figures in our civilization's history because of such unreasonable demands!"
Han Xiao was somewhat gratified and said slowly, "You've put your heart into this. Doing this will severely hinder the development of Planet Aquamarine in the short term, but with my protection, there will be no danger. What we lose now can be earned back in the future."
"Just hearing that is enough. You know I've always believed in you."
Bennett nodded, deactivated the projector, and ended the communication.
Han Xiao let out a breath, thought for a moment, and then turned to contact Kasuyi.
Soon, Kasuyi's figure appeared on the screen, his expression solemn.
"Black Star, I've seen the news. Do you have a plan?"
Han Xiao stroked his chin and slowly said, "Since the Three Universal Civilizations are doing this, we can't be polite. Let's hold an emergency meeting. I have two things to announce."
Which two things?
"First, from this moment forward, the Association will not accept any requests for assistance from the Three Universal Civilizations. Second, subsidies for the direct descendants of the three civilizations within the Association's ranks of Beyond Grade A individuals will be suspended, their membership privileges will be frozen, and they will be temporarily stripped of their right to participate in regular meetings... Inform the outside world that this situation will continue unless the Three Universal Civilizations rescind the sanctions."
Kasuyi frowned. "This will have little effect on the Three Universal Civilizations; at most, it will only demonstrate our stance of not backing down."
"That's enough. If sanctions were so easy to resolve, the Three Universal Civilizations n't have been able to dominate the universe for so many years." Han Xiao said dismissively. "Cooperation with the official civilizations has always been an important business for many Beyond Grade A beings. Now that this channel is cut off, the only major channel for the association to obtain resources is the Interstellar Black Market. The Three Universal Civilizations will definitely focus their crackdown on this area, and there will likely be friction."
Han Xiao paused as he spoke.
"Also, we might need to make contact with the Super Star Cluster Alliance..."
There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. He didn't intend to help the Supercluster civilization "rebel," but a simple transaction was something he could consider.
His goal was simply to control the intensity of the Super Calamity and stabilize the situation as much as possible, but he also knew that it was impossible to remain peaceful forever. The Three Universal Civilizations would not give up testing each other, and the balance of power was always swaying. Even though he was a stability seeker, he had no choice but to show his teeth and claws.