At one of the Black Star Army's bases, flashes of white light appeared, and countless Legion players materialized out of thin air, quickly forming a massive crowd.
Many veteran players are already very familiar with the process, checking the version on the panel while simultaneously browsing the current time on the Quantum Network.
"Oh dear, this time the time span is only a little over ten years, which is much shorter than the last one."
"It's just a minor version update, it's alright."
"The Three Universal Civilizations said that the World Tree Civilization would invade our territory in a little over ten years. Now the timing seems perfect. It seems the Galaxy Times was right; this is the update's timeline, leading directly into the great war."
"It's not easy to have a space war, and I'll be satisfied as long as it's not skipped by a direct version update."
Many players browsed through the events of the past ten years, casually exchanging ideas.
Nothing noteworthy happened during the more than ten years of preparation, except for the changes in the Beyond Grade A group, which greatly interested many players.
"No way, Lagi's already Beyond Grade A? My youth is over!"
"Hadavy, that gambling addict, hasn't leveled up yet? Hahaha, I told you he couldn't!"
"Ni Aotian's life has really been smooth sailing. Is this what the younger generation is all about...?"
"Holy crap! They've even released the Sorokin and killed a Tree King? Awesome!"
"Damn, there are just too many new Beyond Grade A students! My cost of collecting the complete Veyne Cards has increased again."
"Damn it, Black Star and Dragon Emperor have been revealed? Damn it! I've lost all hope... You were born before I was born, and I was born after you were old. Is this the bitterness of life...?"
"What are you dreaming? Black Star is mine!"
"They're a perfect match, how dare I, a monster, object? Waaaaah..."
Many Legion players scrolled through one rumor after another about Beyond Grade A items, their gossip-loving hearts burning brightly.
Originally, apart from a very few Beyond Grade A players like Han Xiao, other top-tier powerhouses had relatively little interaction with players, so players didn't have a deep impression of them and wouldn't deliberately try to remember them... However, the existence of the Veyne Cards became a bond between the two sides, causing players to be very familiar with the names and deeds of each Beyond Grade A player and feel an inherent sense of closeness to them.
However, compared to casual players, professional players are more pragmatic and have no interest in gossip. They mainly focus on collecting useful information and discussing it in small groups.
Maple Moon whispered her analysis, "The updated version name has ' The Territory-wide War ' added as a suffix, so World Tree will most likely be able to invade. This should be the version's theme."
"Yes, I checked online. The World Tree has reached the border, but is currently being held back by the Interstellar Joint Army. Also, a few days ago, the World Tree invaded from Secondary Dimension, but was eventually repelled. The situation for the Three Universal Civilizations is not bad right now."
Looking at the panel, Maple Moon pondered, "This minor update has unlocked some level caps, so the top tiers of players should all be able to reach the Calamity Grade."
Frenzied Saber nodded in agreement, saying, "As overall strength increases, the ways to improve it will become more diverse, and some abilities will undergo qualitative changes. I think this professional league should see significant changes."
This minor update didn't take long, the main storyline remained unchanged, and the only thing that professional players cared about most was that the level cap was raised from 180 to 200, giving them more room to level up.
"Let's go to the front lines first and let command assign us combat missions."
"Let's go, if we're late we won't get any good tasks."
After a brief commotion, the players finally grasped the current situation and boarded their spaceships to head to the front lines, streaks of light disappearing from the base.
On the other side, the main star of the Beyond Grade A Association.
Han Xiao had already adjourned the meeting. Back in his room, he watched as numerous players logged on through the monitor, and his expression became somewhat subtle.
"Have you unlocked level 200 yet? As long as a player doesn't have too many secondary professions and has a fairly normal growth potential, they should be able to reach the Calamity Grade, which would significantly increase the scale."
In the past, Han Xiao would have been wary, but now he has enough confidence that even if a large number of players enter the Calamity Grade, they won't be able to cause him much trouble.
Although I have reached the super god level, I have not yet reached the limit. I still have to cut leeks. However, before the last update, I have harvested a large number of players' wealth. Now that the players have just gone online and their wallets are dry, they have to wait for a while to generate enough income.
Moreover, Han Xiao has now found another way to gain experience: using Psionic Energy Wave to wreak havoc on the battlefield. This is much faster than using mechanical troops, and it's extremely low-cost and convenient. Even with the level penalty, ordinary members of the World Tree can only provide a minimum of 1 point of experience, but the Psionic Energy Wave are incredibly powerful. Little by little, it adds up, allowing him to win through sheer numbers.
The endless resurrection of centaurs from the World Tree makes them perfect targets for grinding experience.
Han Xiao decided to do both things well.
The players' situation is on track, so there's not much to worry about. Han Xiao is more concerned about the meaning of the version name, but he doesn't have a clue yet.
"Regardless, this is a clue..."
Han Xiao nodded secretly.
Under his influence, the current trajectory of the Galaxy is completely different from that of his previous life. He has also come into contact with many secrets that the player community of his previous life could not access. He dares not say that he fully understands this universe. Even if his suspicion based on the version name is just a rumor, it is still better to be cautious.
Han Xiao closed the panel, summoned Phillip and gave him some instructions, then switched to the Sovereign and teleported directly to Dragon Calm.
The Planet Aquamarine has now migrated en masse, and Dragon Calm followed suit. They are currently taking refuge in the Central Galaxy.
Within the vast Dragon Emperor Palace, a faint light flashed, and Han Xiao's figure appeared out of thin air. He turned and walked out, heading towards Iso's residence.
Since there are no clues, when in doubt, we should consult metaphysics.
He quickly arrived at his destination and rang the doorbell.
"You've arrived?"
Iso opened the door and invited Han Xiao in.
Han Xiao didn't stand on ceremony, plopping down on the sofa and laughing, "How come you didn't know I was coming to see you this time?"
"Prophecies don't always come true. Ever since you advanced to the Beyond God Grade, it's become increasingly difficult for me to make prophecies about you..."
Iso shook his head.
"That's true." Han Xiao nodded.
He has already tested it. The Beyond God Grade Information State Projection has been sublimated, as if it has a certain degree of Information State masking characteristics, making it difficult for outsiders to predict it.
"What do you want from me?" Iso paused, then said, "If it's a prophecy, I'm afraid I can't help you; I can't use my abilities for the time being."
"Huh? What's going on?"
Han Xiao was slightly taken aback. He looked at Iso closely and found that Iso looked pale and listless, as if he had been seriously ill.
"When I obtained the passive prophecy, I suffered a backlash. The object of my prophecy was an unprecedented mage who injured me. My mind still needs time to recover. Until then, I can't help you..." Iso coughed twice, his voice somewhat weak.
"You didn't tell Ames?" Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.
"No, she's too impulsive. I wonder how she'll react if she finds out."
Iso shook his head. He rarely revealed important precognitive information to Ames, usually only discussing matters with Han Xiao, and continued:
"I was planning to tell you, but I was still hesitating about how to say it when you went to the battlefield."
"When did this happen?" Han Xiao asked.
"Judging by the timing, I triggered the prophecy precisely on the eve of the attack on the Expeditionary Army's outpost."
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.
What a coincidence... Could it be the Secret Tree King? That guy is indeed a very powerful magician, he's highly suspicious.
Do you have any other memories of that magician?
"No, my premonition was shattered; I can't remember what he looked like at all."
"I see..." Han Xiao pondered, "I think I have a guess as to who this person is; they must be a powerful figure from the World Tree side."
How is he? Did he pose any danger to you?
"Don't worry, I've sealed him away. If you're still angry, you're welcome to visit him anytime."
"Forget it then, I don't have your kind of perverse sense of humor." Iso waved his hand.
Han Xiao smiled, stood up, and prepared to take his leave.
At this moment, Iso suddenly asked, "By the way, when are you and Ames going to have children?"
Han Xiao paused, then said helplessly, "How would I know? I'm available anytime, but she doesn't agree. We can only wait and see when she changes her mind."
"Hey, she's just being stubborn. Once the atmosphere is right, it'll all fall into place." Iso suddenly perked up and began to speak eloquently, "Back in the day, I traveled the Galaxy and countless females fell in love with me. If I hadn't refused, my children would be scattered across every star system. Let me tell you, I have a wealth of experience in this area. Come, let me teach you some tricks..."
"You should keep it for yourself, I don't need it." Han Xiao's eye twitched.
"Hey, why wouldn't you need it? This is the spiritual wealth left by our predecessors. Once you learn these tricks, convincing Ames will be a piece of cake. I wouldn't teach anyone else... Hey, don't go! At least listen a little!"
"Roll."
Han Xiao didn't want to deal with this old scumbag with a rich romantic history, so he switched to the Sovereign's Teleport and left, leaving Iso alone in the room sighing and looking regretful.
Sanctum Organization Base, Child of Destiny Laboratory.
With a flash of light, Han Xiao teleported over. The Sanctum Organization researchers around him glanced up, then, unfazed, continued with their own tasks.
Han Xiao effortlessly awakened the Child of Destiny, and after a brief conversation, he had the Child of Destiny predict his concerns.
After a while, the Child of Destiny shook his head, indicating that he could not foresee the future.
Seeing this, Han Xiao knew that his prophetic abilities were probably useless, and the other party had most likely used information concealment techniques.
"It seems the only option is to strengthen routine screening efforts and pay attention to any abnormalities..."
Han Xiao pondered silently.
Central Galaxy, Desolate Universe Belt.
In the Star Alliance's secret infiltration base, a group of observers were gathered in a large room, intently watching the device in the center of the room.
The device is a cylinder, about ten meters in diameter and fifteen meters high. It is silver-gray in color and has many wires connected to its surface. Indicator lights are flashing wildly and humming as it operates. It is a long-distance material transport device.
After a while, the matter transfer device suddenly shook and separated into upper and lower parts. The upper column slowly rose, revealing a hollow space covered by a transparent dome inside, where a white suitcase lay quietly.
"The things have been sent from our hometown."
The observer captain stepped forward, turned the valve, opened the cover of the material transfer device, picked up the white briefcase, and opened it on the spot. Inside the briefcase were three white cans without any markings.
He took a pistol-like instrument from a team member, scanned the three cans one by one, glanced at the readings, and then nodded.
"Confirmed, these are all microscopically encoded particles."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone present showed joy.
The Star Alliance ordered the observer squads to secretly leak intelligence about the Three Universal Civilizations. They tried many methods, including using the energy of supernova explosions to transmit wave-like information throughout the universe and using stellar communication to subtly transmit information to the World Tree, but all of them were rejected.
Ultimately, the Star Alliance chose to encode the tiny particles, using microscopic transcription technology to unfold the particles in a low dimension, record a massive amount of information on them, and then raise them back to their original form, turning the extremely small particles into information carriers containing all the intelligence they wanted to leak.
The Star Alliance mass-produced a batch of coded particles, intending to throw them beyond the border through a wormhole, causing the storage devices to self-destruct at set intervals, attracting the attention of the World Tree, and simultaneously spreading the particles.
They believed that with World Tree's technology, they should be able to detect the anomalies in these encoded particles and intercept them.
The Star Alliance has been developing for a long time and possesses high technical capabilities. It also has some knowledge of Information State and has been providing information cover for the observer teams. They are not afraid that their actions will be detected by prophetic methods. They have been secretly stealing the technological achievements of interstellar society for many years and have long been familiar with interstellar society. They are confident that they will not be discovered.