The crackdown on human trafficking across the entire Explored Universe is unprecedented in its intensity and effectiveness. Regardless of whether it's the underworld or the legitimate world, human traffickers have nowhere to hide. Those who once relied on protection now avoid them like the plague. Both buyers and sellers are terrified. Numerous individuals and organizations involved in human trafficking have been investigated and, depending on the severity of their offenses and the size of their influence, have been punished with fines, imprisonment, or even the death penalty. Countless human traffickers have met their end.
Of course, most people will not sit idly by and wait to die; there will naturally be those who resist. The complex and intertwined situation under the human trade ecosystem is thus exposed to the world. Sellers may have nowhere to escape, but many buyers are powerful and influential, scattered in all walks of life, like stubborn stains left in the cracks.
Many forces are willing to eradicate human traffickers, but it is impossible to eliminate all the buyers, and many cooperating forces would not agree to it, since Implicated too many people and could easily change the nature of the operation. Their own dark history may also be brought up, so there are many concerns.
Han Xiao didn't insist on this. He only wanted to eliminate all the sellers. Even if there were still buyers who wouldn't give up, they wouldn't be able to find a source of goods for a long time and would only be able to dream about it.
If some daring speculators see an opening in the population market and attempt to develop private clients through one-on-one confidentiality, the advanced civilization monitoring the network is not just for show, and the search program created by a Beyond God Grade virtual mechanic is no pushover either.
More detailed handling methods were jointly formulated by the association and advanced civilizations, and some new laws and regulations were introduced, so Han Xiao did not need to handle this personally.
As one human trafficking chain after another was publicly dismantled, Han Xiao gained increasing support from interstellar citizens. However, while ending the human trafficking trade brought him immense prestige, it also offended many people.
Black Star Palace, private machinery workshop.
Han Xiao flipped through the feedback collected by the Intelligence Department over the past few days, a strange look on his face, and clicked his tongue:
"Hey, this commotion is bigger than I expected. This kind of thing definitely doesn't bring much benefit. These powerful guys, no matter how respectful they seem to the surface, mostly think I'm meddling in other people's business. I wonder how many of them secretly consider me their enemy."
Buyers who have the ability to keep slaves without being held accountable are clearly not ordinary people. They have deprived these people of their "hobbies." Even if these guys dare not express their dissatisfaction, they definitely do not have any good feelings towards them. If they ever have the opportunity to kick someone when they are down, they will certainly not hesitate to do so.
"If I weren't an individual force of great strength, I certainly wouldn't have a good end..."
Han Xiao curled his lip.
Unfortunately, his fist was big enough that even if these people disliked him, they couldn't do anything about it.
In the world of martial arts, it's inevitable to make enemies, but Han Xiao didn't care.
He opened the panel and looked at the task list. [The End of Darkness] was already showing as "ready to be completed," which surprised him somewhat.
"It's done just like that? The operation isn't over yet."
Han Xiao stroked his chin, seemingly lost in thought.
In this climate of fear and uncertainty, no one dares to take the risk. The human traffickers who haven't been caught yet have no intention of conducting business and are all focused on running away, so the trade chain has basically been broken.
In a sense, interstellar human trade was indeed temporarily halted during this period, and it should be fine as long as the missions are completed before it resurfaces.
"In that case, the task assessment is relatively lenient, and the difficulty is within an acceptable range."
Han Xiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief and felt relieved.
If the mission is to ensure that there is never any interstellar trade, then let alone a trillion experience points, he felt that even ten trillion or a hundred trillion experience points might not be worthy of the difficulty.
This requirement is also very difficult now. It seems simple for me to complete, but that's because I have accumulated a high enough status. There are very few forces in the entire interstellar society with my level of influence. It would be impossible for someone else to even begin.
Han Xiao didn't want anything to go wrong, so he settled the task immediately.
[The End of Darkness is Complete!]
[You have gained 10,000 e EXP, 15 random rewards, and 5 Blank Character Card.]
[You have achieved the milestone [Slave Liberator]!]
[[Slave Liberator]: Your relationship with all Order factions is permanently set to [Revered]]
[You have gained 3 points of Universe Legend Points]
[Universe Legend Points: [Light of Justice] -- You tore apart the darkness of the human trade, bringing the light of justice to this Galaxy. Countless people regard you as an idol to be worshipped.]
[Universe Legend Points: [Deeds of a Great Person] -- Your act of ending the human trade will become a monument to humanitarianism, remembered in history, and recorded in textbooks for all to memorize.]
[Universe Legend Points: [Freedom Leader] -- You have saved countless desperate people, freeing them from their shackles. In the eyes of those you have saved, your existence symbolizes sublime freedom.]
"Hey, all done."
Han Xiao relaxed and happily inspected his harvest.
The one trillion experience reward mainly reflects the difficulty level. For him, it's neither a small amount nor a huge sum, roughly equivalent to six or seven Old Manison's, but it's still a considerable windfall.
Experience is still useful to him now. Although he has been promoted to the Beyond God Grade rank, his total level is still not at the limit. However, the cost of upgrading is even more outrageous. One trillion experience points can't even get him to level up once. It's a bottomless pit.
In his eyes, the most practical reward was fifteen random reward opportunities and five Blank Character Card... especially the latter, which allowed him to explore people's abilities again.
As for the effect of the [Slave Liberator] milestone, it was extremely useful in the past, but given my current status, it would be about the same even without this milestone.
However, this achievement serves as an even stronger shield, placing them on the moral high ground. If the Three Universal Civilizations were to target them again in the future, the backlash would be even more severe.
Furthermore, this is also a huge Political Asset. If one day he were to consider the position of ruler of interstellar society, perhaps some people would openly welcome him with food and drink, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the great Black Star Emperor in his loyal Central Galaxy...
"Cough cough..."
Han Xiao coughed twice, putting aside his random thoughts, tapped his fingers on the table, and pondered to himself.
Having used his influence to rally forces across the universe to cooperate in ending the human trade, he naturally cannot change his mind frequently, as that would damage his prestige. Although the mission is complete, it is not appropriate to stop immediately; the operation must continue.
"That's fine too, it's not a bad thing anyway. We should see it through to the end, and support them to the very end."
Han Xiao composed himself, opened the forum and glanced at it. He found that many players were also discussing this matter, and most of the posts were full of admiration and praise.
This story was also added to the Galaxy Chronicles by players, who showered him with praise and compliments, which he found quite pleasing and didn't feel ashamed at all.
While browsing the forum with a pleasant mood, Han Xiao suddenly stopped and noticed a post that caught his attention.
This is an announcement post stating the time of the next version update. Han Xiao did a quick calculation and figured it would be approximately nine months after Galaxy, when players would experience an offline update.
Players haven't had nearly as much activity time in version 5.0 as in previous versions; there hasn't even been a professional league yet. However, this update isn't a major version change, but rather a move into version 5.5, a minor update.
There were several minor version updates of this kind in his previous life, but in Han Xiao's memory, version 5.0 in his previous life did not have this update.
"Looks like it's another example of my butterfly effect."
Han Xiao was helpless.
Under his influence, the storyline has changed drastically, and even the name of version 5.0 has been changed to [Black Star Era]. It's not surprising that the update schedule has changed.
After all, each version update is based on some major event, which is determined automatically. The World Tree still has ten years before it reaches the borders of the Explored Universe, which he guesses is the reason for the minor update.
"This doesn't seem like a positive change. I was hoping to see if I could level up a few more times."
Han Xiao rubbed his temples.
A minor update, while unlocking the player level cap again, also created a significant new way for players to spend their experience, preventing the update from being as efficient as possible at farming.
In addition, the Three Universal Civilizations are currently harassing the World Tree's advance, which is exactly when they need suicide squads the most. If players log off, they will lose a reusable armed force.
"Looks like we need to prepare. We'll take another big cut before they log off."
A sinister glint flashed in Han Xiao's eyes.
He's very familiar with this, and the key is to give players plenty of incentive to empty their shopping carts.
Compared to selling supplies and equipment, acquiring various professional knowledge and skills is the main way to gain experience points.
So... our skills aren't selling, please help us!
Nine months passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Han Xiao used all his skills to promote sales, changing the promotional methods every day as if every day was Singles' Day.
Many Legion players went on a spending spree, their experience bars and wallets emptying at an incredible rate.
But they weren't sad at all; on the contrary, they were very happy, feeling that they had made a huge profit and gotten more than their money's worth. They smiled like little flowers.
They paid us money, and they should thank us...
Having squeezed a bunch of players dry, Han Xiao's experience reserves have become much richer. As long as he doesn't use them for upgrades, he can use them for a long time, which he believes is enough to cover his research costs for many years.
When the update arrived, many players logged off and disappeared, catching the Three Universal Civilizations slightly off guard. However, they quickly adjusted and replaced their forces to intercept the World Tree army, inevitably increasing their casualty rate.
After resolving the issue of human trade, Han Xiao did not cause any further trouble. Instead, he worked closely with the Three Universal Civilizations to prepare for war, and time flew by in their busy schedule.
No further incidents occurred during the preparations for war, and the transformation of the Shattered World's borders was successfully completed, turning it into a scorched-earth war zone. Meanwhile, the Secondary Dimension Expeditionary Army continued its search for the World Tree's true location, using the territory of the King of the Boundless as a transit point.
Under Han Xiao's guidance, most of the Beyond Grade A have made varying degrees of progress, and a new batch of Beyond Grade A powerhouses have emerged from among the Calamity Grade students at the training base, leaving their mark on the Sanctuary.
In addition, many Beyond Grade A forces have also completed their relocation. Under Han Xiao's instruction, the Black Star Army moved away from the territories of Shattered World and Shattered Star Ring, temporarily withdrawing from these two frontier areas that were the first to bear the brunt of the war, so as to avoid suffering additional losses in the war.
Year after year passed, and the distance between the World Tree and the Shattered World shrank day by day. The atmosphere of Explored Universe became increasingly tense, and a storm was brewing.
Finally, on February 5th, 797 of the Galaxy Calendar and Book of Books, the shadow of the World Tree spread out.
Shattered World toward the Unexplored Universe, dense streams of light leaped forth, transforming into an immense fleet of World Tree.
Countless World Tree soldiers gazed at the starry river outside the window, and the scene they saw was transmitted through the World Tree's mind and simultaneously fed back to the mind of the Tranquil Tree King, who was stationed at the main camp.
Tranquil Tree King sat upright on his Throne, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
More than ten years had passed in the blink of an eye for him; the memory of his battle with Han Xiao felt like it was just yesterday.
Field battles are not the forte of the World Tree Civilization; their greatest strength lies in invading enemy civilizations' territories. They use the World Tree's devouring ability to snowball, consuming all resources and exhausting all enemies.
The war is finally starting to move in a rhythm we're good at!
The Tranquil Tree King tightened his grip, crushing the armrest of the Throne with a crack, his voice low and hoarse:
"Finally, I've found your territory... It's time for you to taste despair!"