Suspicion always leads to action, as has always been Han Xiao's style. He instructed Phillip to monitor intelligence from various sources within the interstellar society, and to report any unusual activity immediately. However, after several months of caution, nothing was discovered, and the situation remained unchanged.
Because of the Pivot Snake, the World Tree Civilization was in a panic, rushing to attack the border defenses again and again. Other troops were thrown into the battlefield like they were free, without any regard for casualties. But the Interstellar Joint Army was not to be trifled with, and its defenses would not be breached so easily.
Even on the Secondary Dimension front, the World Tree Familia stubbornly invaded several times. However, with Han Xiao in charge in the shallow dimension, he was like an unshakeable guardian deity. The Familia invaded time and time again, only to be defeated and flee, abandoning countless fleets, allowing Han Xiao to amass a fortune.
The worst part was in terms of individual power. The World Tree found itself completely crushed. The Shattered World Front had Aurora a healer, as well as top-tier combatants like the Sorokin and Hyperion. The World Tree's powerhouses would trade injuries for zero damage, while the Guardian the Secondary Dimension was the Beyond God Grade Han Xiao. Even the Tree King didn't dare to show his face, and the others were just easy targets, completely useless.
Suddenly, many Sacred Tree Envoy, Ancestral Spirit, and military leaders were astonished to find that they were no longer of any use, as neither front required them.
If they had already invaded the enemy's homeland, they could still rely on their individual strength to move flexibly in space, like special forces, diverting the enemy civilization's attention and causing various kinds of damage. But in the current situation, they can only wait helplessly.
After several months of fighting, tens of millions of players have re-immersed themselves in the atmosphere of war. They can choose between two battlefronts, the missions are much richer, and their wallets are gradually getting fuller. Unfortunately, version 5.5 unlocked a new level cap, and players' primary goal is to level up, so they don't have much spare money to spend.
As more and more players reach the Calamity Grade, a qualitative change is slowly emerging. The player community is becoming more prominent on the battlefield, and the Three Universal Civilizations are paying more and more attention to it.
From a high-level perspective, the Explored Universe be rich in resources. For a long time, its powerful productivity was enough to keep the World Tree Civilization at bay. However, this path always has an end. In this respect, the World Tree is ultimately superior. As time goes by, the Three Universal Civilizations believe that they will eventually begin to weaken, and the various hidden dangers of their wartime policies will gradually emerge.
Of course, this situation won't happen anytime soon. They're not the ones currently in a bind. The Three Universal Civilizations are sitting comfortably on the high ground, and they'd rather wage a war of attrition than the World Tree, buying time for the Pivot Snake to grow stronger. Therefore, players with Calamity Grade potential who are also immortal are important strategic weapons in the eyes of the Three Universal Civilizations, and they're not afraid of attrition.
For the past few months, the situation has been very positive, and the interstellar community has gradually become more confident and optimistic.
Although the players were unaware of the situation with the Pivot Snake, based on their analysis of the surface circumstances, they all felt that the Three Universal Civilizations were likely in a winning position. Having learned Black Star's strategy, the rest would be a simple matter of F2A (Free-to-Attack). How could they possibly lose with a dragon rush?
Just when everyone's morale was high, Han Xiao noticed something amiss.
"The various members of the Super Star Cluster Alliance have all set up secret stargates within their national borders and amassed large numbers of civilians, countless supplies, and long-range warships, seemingly preparing to flee?"
Han Xiao flipped through the intelligence reports, his expression shifting as he pondered to himself.
Faced with foreign invasion, it is only natural for these advanced civilizations to leave themselves a way out and make contingency plans. Even if the whole nation is optimistic about the war and their confidence is high, it is also understandable for advanced civilizations to make the worst-case scenario plan. Han Xiao had noticed the Supercluster's actions before, but did not take it seriously.
However, due to suspicions about the "Territory-wide War" and the calm of the past few months, Han Xiao's paranoia has become increasingly severe. Now he sees suspicion in everyone, and even if the Super Star Cluster Alliance's foresight is reasonable, it still seems a bit glaring to him.
Han Xiao recalled the performance of the Super Star Cluster civilization forces on the battlefield. Although they had completed their combat mission, he always felt that they had not used their full strength.
He used to think that the Supercluster was being cautious and holding back because it was worried about being used as cannon fodder by the Three Universal Civilizations. But now that his suspicions have taken hold, he feels that there's something else going on.
After all, the Super Star Cluster Alliance has deep-rooted conflicts with the Three Universal Civilizations. In this war of invasion by an external enemy during the reconstruction of the social order, it would be unlike them if the Super Star Cluster Alliance did not seize the opportunity to do something.
"I have a feeling that they're not just leaving themselves an escape route, but have other plans..."
Han Xiao stroked his chin, secretly making up his mind to thoroughly investigate the secrets of the Super Star Cluster Alliance.
Regardless of whether there's a problem or not, it's never a bad thing to investigate. It would be best if we could find some incriminating evidence.
After sending a message to Phillip, telling him to keep an eye on this intelligence, Han Xiao withdrew from the Quantum Network Vision and stepped out of the room. A huge cloud of mist immediately came into view, which was the Pivot Snake hiding in it. Beside it were the keeper King of the Boundless, and a bunch of mechanical troops acting as bodyguards.
The group was currently in a Secondary Dimension, allowing the Pivot Snake to devour them at will. Han Xiao had been keeping a close watch on them with his mobile fortress, protecting them while also pondering how to accelerate the Pivot Snake's growth.
Therefore, he had to give the Pivot Snake a full examination beforehand. The Pivot Snake was naturally unwilling, but under his strong control, it could only stare with its aloof and unwilling eyes, letting Han Xiao manipulate its body.
After examining its body, Han Xiao discovered that the Pivot Snake had no gender distinction; it could be described as hermaphroditic.
After a more detailed and in-depth examination, Han Xiao also figured out how the Pivot Snake reproduced, which left him with mixed feelings.
The reproduction of the Pivot Snake requires the assistance of Secondary Dimension that has given birth to consciousness. This involves a mating-like process where the Secondary Dimension is absorbed in another way, transforming into an embryo. This process can be described as solitary reproduction or hybridization, but it does not require the "help" of its own kind.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. The Pivot Snake would likely never encounter another of its kind in its lifetime, and it was also Pursuit by the World Tree. If it couldn't reproduce on its own, it would probably have gone extinct long ago.
The problem is, the Pivot Snake usually eats Secondary Dimension... To put it another way, what exactly does this serpent do to its prey...?
And after sleeping with her, you even eat her to absorb nutrients... And then you can even bite her afterward? Are you a female praying mantis?
Various thoughts flashed through Han Xiao's mind. Looking at the indifferent Pivot Snake, he had some ideas.
"Even if the Pivot Snake eats a lot, it will only get fat; it won't quickly reach maturity. Biological growth follows certain laws... But if I change the basis of its existence, I wonder if it will have any effect."
A bold idea came to Han Xiao's mind.
If the Pivot Snake were allowed to develop normally, it would take an unknown amount of time to reach adulthood. However, if it were transformed into an intelligent life form using [Life Transformation·Virtual], the life form would be completely different. Could we directly infuse it with massive amounts of data to accelerate its maturation and quickly bring it to "adulthood"...?
The only problem is that he doesn't know if the Pivot Snake's form of existence will change and it will still be able to retain its connection to the World Tree.
Logically speaking, if the perception originates from the Information State level, then it shouldn't matter what type of life form the Pivot Snake becomes.
But Han Xiao dared not gamble now. There was only one Pivot Snake, and he couldn't reverse it back. If he messed it up, it would be gone.
"If only you could make one more so I could test it out..."
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, looking at Pivot Snake with ill intent.
Or... should we let this snake give birth now?
It's still a juvenile, can it even stand up straight...?
Han Xiao fell into deep thought.
While Han Xiao was pursuing advanced studies in aquaculture, the World Tree Civilization made some discoveries.
In the Tree King's Palace, the Ancestral Tree King listened to the reports from the front lines, a subtle expression on his face.
"Confirmed? The particles you intercepted contained a wealth of intelligence about a hostile civilization?"
"Yes, these particles used microscopic recording techniques involving dimensional transformation. We are still deciphering them and trying to reconstruct the specific content, but it's roughly correct. They contain numerous spatial coordinates and star maps within the enemy's territory."
Is that so?
The Ancestral Tree King's eyes flickered.
The two armies were locked in a stalemate at the border, and the World Tree had also built a base, placing it right at the doorstep of the Three Universal Civilizations civilizations. Just recently, an urgent report came from the front lines: the radar at the front-line base detected abnormal spatial reactions and signs of weak energy bursts at a certain distance. Therefore, a detection team was dispatched to investigate, fearing that the Three Universal Civilizations were not content with just defense and might cause some trouble.
However, after some testing, it was discovered that it was a wormhole that had only opened briefly and had disappeared by the time the exploration team arrived. To be on the safe side, the exploration team followed the traces of the energy burst and searched for more information. The microscopic vision scanner quickly discovered some special particles floating in the area, which seemed to have been thrown in all directions by the explosion. The exploration team collected some of them and unexpectedly discovered a lot of information related to the Three Universal Civilizations.
Upon learning of this, the Ancestral Tree King's first reaction was that it was a feint, believing it to be false intelligence from the Three Universal Civilizations, an attempt to mislead them with incorrect information.
The second reaction was that there were traitors within the Three Universal Civilizations, who wanted to betray the enemy for some purpose... This was not the first time the World Tree had encountered such a thing. In their conquest of the universe, as long as the opponent was a complex alliance of civilizations, it would never be a monolithic entity.
His third thought was that there were third parties watching, wanting to stir things up and fish in troubled waters... The World Tree was equally experienced in this regard.
"The unexpected turning point came here..."
These thoughts flashed through the Ancestral Tree King's mind in an instant, and a strange expression appeared on his face, as if he had breathed a sigh of relief, or perhaps he had a cold smile on his face.
He had been at his wits' end for the past few months, overwhelmed by the war Three Universal Civilizations. Unexpectedly, a godsend had come to him. His immediate priority was to verify the intelligence. As long as it wasn't false intelligence deliberately released by the Three Universal Civilizations, the war situation would take a turn for the better.
"Decipher all the content as soon as possible, organize it all, and while you're at it, try to deduce the origin of this wormhole."
Without hesitation, Ancestral Tree King instructed the research department to produce results as soon as possible.
Whether it was an inside agent or a third party, whatever their purpose in leaking the information, whether they wanted to use the World Tree or not... none of that mattered to him. What mattered was only to destroy the Three Universal Civilizations and eliminate the greatest threat to the Mother Tree!
As for other issues, once the threats are eliminated and the World Tree is once it is invincible again, there will be plenty of time to resolve them gradually. The Ancestral Tree King has always been able to grasp the main contradictions.
On the other side, in the Shattered World, at Sibert Fortress, in the strategic command room.
"Report: An unusual spatial reaction has been detected outside the border, suspected to be the formation of a wormhole," the military radar system issued a warning.
The numerous military officers present gathered around, examined the source, and discovered that the unusual signal originated outside the border defense perimeter, not too far from the World Tree base.
"Could you investigate and see what exactly happened there?" an officer of staff asked.
"Insufficient information; on-site investigation recommended," the military intelligence officer replied matter-of-factly.
Upon hearing this, the group exchanged glances and murmured amongst themselves.
The border defense forces are stationed at various posts within the defensive perimeter. If they were to leave this area, without the ever-increasing defensive fortifications and closely connected rapid support channels, it would be difficult for them to cope with the overwhelming tide of the World Tree Fleet. Therefore, the border defense forces have always focused on defense and rarely launch proactive attacks.
The source of the anomaly is outside the defensive perimeter. To conduct an on-site investigation, the fleet would have to be sent out. Not only are they monitoring the World Tree's movements, but the World Tree is also constantly monitoring the defensive perimeter. Once the border defense forces send out a fleet, the World Tree will inevitably send troops to fight in the field and wipe out their fleet... Moreover, in terms of distance, the World Tree is closer to the source of the anomaly. Being in a better position, they have an advantage. Even if they send troops there, they will most likely gain nothing.
Generally speaking, border troops rarely send personnel on such high-risk missions with unknown value.
But unfortunately... the player is just the right fit for this job.