Most of the day later.
A pale green force field lifted a set of clothes, making them float in mid-air. Han Xiao reached out and took it, draped it over his shoulders, and dressed himself neatly. He rubbed his tired back and went to the mirror to rub his cheeks.
Ames loosened her hair, casually smoothed it down, and let her black hair cascade down like a waterfall. She used her strength to open the refrigerator, took out a half-empty bottle of liquor, poured two glasses, and walked over to Han Xiao. She turned and sat on the edge of the table, facing Han Xiao, and handed him one of the glasses with a smile.
"Want some drinks?"
Hearing this, Han Xiao glanced at her, took the wine and took a sip. Ames smiled and reached out to straighten Han Xiao's clothes, turning up his collar.
You've been quite busy lately. I tried to contact you a while ago, but I couldn't get through.
"When am I not busy?"
Han Xiao smacked his lips, savoring the wine; its savory flavor lingered in his mouth.
"Be honest with me, where have you been the other day? Did you go to Secondary Dimension with someone?" Ames took a sip of her drink, her demeanor elegant, her tone teasing.
"Nonsense, I've only traversed Secondary Dimension with you, maybe with Kasuyi at most." Han Xiao downed his drink in one gulp, put down the glass, and casually combed his hair with his fingers in front of the mirror.
Ames swirled her glass and chuckled, "You've achieved quite a bit now. You've secured independent status for the Beyond Grade A Association, Three Universal Civilizations have reinstated your identity. You've accomplished most of the goals set when the association was founded. Now you can relax, right?"
"It's still early; now is not the time to relax."
"What, still not satisfied? Want to climb higher?" Ames raised an eyebrow. "You're already a top figure in the universe. Going any higher is a bit dangerous. Could it be that you, this ambitious man, really want to seize the positions of the Three Universal Civilizations and usurp the ruling power?"
"You're overthinking it. I'm not referring to those things, but to other matters. There's a huge threat that hasn't been eliminated yet, but I can't tell you about it right now."
Han Xiao glanced at her helplessly. He hadn't revealed much information about the World Tree yet, not even to those close to him.
"Alright, you always have big plans anyway... But you can't be this busy forever, there will be a day when you have to stop."
"If this matter can be resolved smoothly, I should be able to rest for a long time."
"Then I'll be waiting, don't go back on your word." Ames smiled gently.
"We'll see. If I have some free time, I'll spend more time with you."
Han Xiao chatted casually for a couple of minutes and was about to change into his Sovereign and leave when his communicator suddenly rang, and he received a message.
He took it out and glanced at it; it was Iso. Han Xiao immediately chuckled.
"Hey, it's the old man looking for me. His timing is perfect."
Ames peeked out and said dismissively, "They must have seen the earthquake stop, that's why they called you."
"Want to come along?" Han Xiao waved his communicator.
"He's looking for you, not me. He probably has some prophecy to discuss with you again. I won't go; I still have to see Hila and the others later. You go see the old man yourself. I'm going to take a shower."
Ames waved lazily, casually patted Han Xiao's butt, then got up from the table and left the room.
Han Xiao shook his head, left the Dragon Emperor Palace, and easily arrived at Iso's house, where he was quickly welcomed inside by the intelligent butler.
As soon as he entered, he saw Iso sitting on the sofa, raising his eyebrows at him.
"They're out?"
"You're asking a question you already know the answer to."
Han Xiao pursed his lips, casually picked up a piece of fruit from the fruit plate on the table and threw it into his mouth. He then plopped down on the sofa next to Iso, draped one arm over the back of the chair, crossed his legs, and acted as if he were at home, casually asking:
What do you want with me?
"Keep it down next time," Iso said helplessly.
"It's not like it's the first time we've met. When did you become so nosy?" Han Xiao glanced at him strangely.
"I mean, be mindful of the impact. Every time you guys finish an earthquake, the Logistics Department has to do maintenance. They think it's Ames exercising and have complained to me more than once, asking me to persuade her to stop causing trouble for Dragon Calm."
Iso shook his head, looking pained.
He knew that Han Xiao and Ames had maintained their relationship for a long time. Although Ames was nominally his adopted daughter, he knew that such private matters had nothing to do with him, so he did not interfere or meddle, nor did he have the ability to do so. Besides, Black Star had always satisfied him.
As an Ancient Ones with a rich romantic history, Iso was quite open-minded in this regard and was not at all surprised that Ames and Black Star got together. In his view, the two adult men and women from the interstellar era had known each other for nearly a hundred years, were of equal status, had experienced a lot together, and found each other pleasing to the eye. It was only a matter of time before they slept in the same bed.
As for the fact that the two did not marry, it was of no consequence to Iso. The old-fashioned marriage system had been outdated for thousands of years. Interstellar races have long lifespans and diverse lifestyles. Lifelong monogamy is an outdated system that many interstellar civilizations have abandoned. The mainstream marriage contracts now are generally legal polygamy and monogamy with contractual terms. But no matter what kind of marriage it is, it is no longer a necessity for interstellar citizens. Due to the strong mobility of the population, the registration of identity in most interstellar civilizations has long been simplified, and registering a household is very simple. A considerable number of interstellar citizens raise their offspring out of wedlock, and civilizations provide high subsidies and have even established public foster homes.
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao was speechless.
"You didn't call me here just to talk about this, did you? If there's nothing important, I'll head back."
"I'm not that bored; I have something important to discuss with you."
Iso composed himself, clearing his mind of distractions, leaned forward, and solemnly said:
"I recently made a new prophecy. I see an ominous cloud hanging over interstellar society, containing blood and fire, roars and screams. A catastrophe may be brewing... Do you remember one of my prophecies before? The opening of boundless wormholes and the invasion of countless fleets. The two seem to be related, and perhaps an unknown war will break out in the near future."
"Yeah?"
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow; Iso's prophecy probably referred to the World Tree.
"You don't seem surprised?" Iso blinked.
"Since you have prophecy, there's no need to hide it from you. You must be very curious about why the Three Universal Civilizations have made concessions time and time again. That's it." Han Xiao shrugged.
Iso was startled, then suddenly realized, "So there's an external enemy. That explains it. The Three Universal Civilizations had no choice but to unite their forces, which is why they reached an agreement with you."
"That's about it. I can reveal some information: this external enemy is extremely troublesome, perhaps the strongest enemy the Three Universal Civilizations have encountered in recent years. As for the specific details, I can't tell you for now; just be prepared," Han Xiao said.
"... So it really is going to be a cosmic war. Sigh, peaceful days are always so short. If it's an external enemy, it won't be a small-scale conflict. I wonder how many people will die." Iso sighed.
As he spoke, his expression turned serious, and he said in a deep voice:
"Black Star, if the situation turns bad, I hope you will leave with Ames. There's no need for us to perish with the Three Universal Civilizations."
"... Just how horrific is the scene you predicted that makes you so pessimistic?"
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.
Iso, with a serious expression, slowly said, "I'm just taking precautions. Remember, if things don't go well, don't go down a dead-end road."
On the other side, in the Void Dimension, in Kasuyi's palace.
Kasuyi sat at one end of the table, opposite Manison's remote projection. On the table was a virtual game of Veyne Cards, and the two were chatting casually while playing cards.
"Now that the association has official status, given Black Star's personality, he should strike while the iron is hot and implement the next step of the plan. But instead, he's focusing on low-key development and delaying the launch of new initiatives, thus missing an opportunity. This isn't like him."
Kasuyi casually played a card and said slowly.
Manison glanced at his cards without looking up and casually remarked, "Black Star definitely has his own plans."
"He's been acting mysteriously lately, getting involved with the Three Universal Civilizations. I don't know what he's up to. Come to think of it, the concessions made by the Three Universal Civilizations have always seemed suspicious." Kasuyi clasped his hands together.
Manison didn't seem to care and said casually:
"The choice made by the Three Universal Civilizations was clearly due to pressure, and the source of that pressure is limited to a few possibilities. Given the current situation, the most likely scenario is an invasion by an external enemy. Black Star has probably reached an agreement with the Three Universal Civilizations to jointly resist the enemy. We just need to wait and see."
"That's not necessarily true," Kasuyi shook his head.
Because he possessed intelligence about the iteration, he thought about it more deeply. Besides the possibility of external enemies, he also felt that perhaps the Three Universal Civilizations had discovered the existence of the iteration and thus put aside their disputes. However, these were all speculations. Regardless of the reason, he supported Han Xiao's current actions.
Although Han Xiao did not reveal the situation of the World Tree, many Beyond Grade A powerhouses, after pondering these past few days, have come to their senses and roughly guessed that the current situation is caused by the existence of external enemies.
However, since Black Star did not make it public, many association members tacitly understood and pretended not to know, but in reality they were aware of it. In places unknown to Han Xiao, a considerable number of Beyond Grade A were already quietly making preparations for the battle.
Somewhere in the Unexplored Universe.
The World Tree Expedition's spaceship changed direction and was rapidly jumping in one direction. The crew members in the cockpit were all excited, while several trembling elderly Kunde Race were tied up in a corner.
"After all these years, I've finally found my prey."
The captain stared intently at the navigation coordinates on the screen, brimming with excitement.
After wandering in the universe for many years, searching for unknown civilizations in solitude, the probability of success is imaginable, like finding a needle in a haystack. For the expedition team, it was like an exile, until today they finally made a discovery.
Not long ago, they discovered a poorly equipped life pod, captured the creatures inside, and through various means, obtained information from the memories of these intelligent beings who called themselves the Kunde Race.
When the Empire defeated the Kunde Race Civilization, groups of Kund people escaped in escape pods. After years of travel and some accidental factors, some survivors were far from the Explored Universe. This escape pod was one of those escapees.
These Kunde Race's memories of the Explored Universe are limited to the period of war between them and the Crimson Dynasty. As a native civilization of the Shattered World, they have never integrated into interstellar society and therefore have almost no understanding of the Explored Universe.
But for the World Tree exploration team, the most valuable intelligence was the coordinates recorded in the escape pod, as well as the navigation records over the years, which provided them with a navigation target pointing to the original address of the Kunde Race Civilization, namely the Shattered World Starfield.
Due to the unique nature of the World Tree Psychic Network, each exploration team is a real-time connected cosmic coordinate recorder, and the coordinates of every place they pass through are simultaneously uploaded to the World Tree.
This means that as long as the expeditionary team reaches its destination, it will obtain the coordinates of the enemy. After analysis and research, the World Tree headquarters can use the wormhole generator to transport a large force. The Three Universal Civilizations also used this method when they first entered the territory of the World Tree Civilization. It is basically a space technology that is standard for advanced civilizations.
Meanwhile, the exploration team is also responsible for intelligence work, infiltrating the territory of unknown civilizations to gather information about them. Only when the World Tree knows the situation of its opponent will it launch a large-scale invasion, rather than Reckless a war as soon as it discovers its prey.
"I wonder what level of civilization we've discovered this time. Could it be the lair of that outsider who recently wreaked havoc on our territory...? Hmm, we need to be careful!"
The captain muttered to himself, remaining extremely vigilant. He had also learned from the Psychic Network about Han Xiao's feat of fighting against a hundred enemies single-handedly in the World Tree Civilization's territory.
--If this coordinate is indeed the hometown of that valiant outsider, then the danger level should be raised to the highest level!