The Final Relay, Turning Point of Fate (End)

The talks between the two sides did not last long, and the date was eventually set for nine years later, finalizing the new fate of their Dark Side Universe without the knowledge of the rest of interstellar society.

Countless interstellar citizens remained immersed in peaceful and happy lives, while unseen by them, the Three Universal Civilizations and Han Xiao were quietly preparing for the transformation of the Dark Side Universe into its Real State, drawing ever closer to the date of the official implementation plan.

In this long-awaited era of peace, time flies by. Stars shift, the sun rises and the moon sets, and time flows like water, never to return. Nine years have passed quietly as the major powers have ceased their activities and recuperated. The interstellar society has undergone tremendous changes, and a new generation of young people has grown up. Yet, it seems that nothing has changed. The Three Universal Civilizations, the Super Sanctuary, and the Super Star Cluster Alliance still occupy their respective territories.

Today is the appointed date, and also the starting point where the fate of the Dark Side Universe officially diverges.

The Central Galaxy is a military restricted area specially built by the Three Universal Civilizations for this day.

Countless Information State reaction enhancement devices formed a dense and orderly array in the starry sky, distributed layer by layer, presenting a spherical shape, and Han Xiao was located at the center of all the auxiliary device arrays, floating alone in the universe.

Meanwhile, in the distance, the fleets of the Three Universal Civilizations formed layers upon layers of protection to prevent any accidents that might disrupt Han Xiao's transformation.

On the main ship, the remote projections of the three heads of state looked at Han Xiao outside the porthole, their expressions solemn and extremely serious.

"Lord Black Star, we are all ready, please..."

Mabrus paused, took a deep breath, and spoke in a low voice over the communication channel:

"Let's begin."

"... good."

Han Xiao remained calm and composed, giving a soft reply, though a complex expression flickered in his eyes.

Although he had rehearsed this day more than once over the past nine years, he still couldn't help but feel emotional when the moment actually arrived.

The plan to transform the Dark Side Universe remains a top-level secret. The Three Universal Civilizations hope to quietly resolve this ultimate question concerning the truth of the universe while countless interstellar citizens are asleep, ideally merging the Dark Side Universe with the Real Universe without anyone noticing. Therefore, Han Xiao only shared the relevant information with a few trusted individuals, such as Ames, while everyone else continued their normal lives on this day.

Han Xiao focused his mind into his body, and saw his chest slowly glowing, as if it had transformed into a white spatial passage where space folded and contracted.

Soon, amidst a dazzling white light, the World Tree, rooted in the inner space, appeared in the outside world, radiating a vibrant green light and spinning rapidly.

Han Xiao lowered his head, looking at the miniature figure of the World Tree. His mind was already connected, and he could activate the information materialization function and the book at any time. But at this moment, he stopped, his eyes changing.

One Information Anchor after another flashed through my mind, and before my eyes seemed to ripple like waves, as if I were reliving my bizarre and magnificent life of the past hundred years from a third-person perspective.

The final image freezes on countless familiar figures: old acquaintances, former enemies, and current friends...

"I hope everything that happened here will anchor my existence, so I won't forget... that I was here."

The next moment, Han Xiao did not hesitate any longer and activated the World Tree's information materialization function.

Buzz--

As if the universe were at its birth, Han Xiao's figure was instantly engulfed by light, as if endless light was spraying out and filling everyone's vision.

In that instant, everyone in the entire interstellar society felt a strange sensation and unconsciously recalled the appearance of Black Star.

Floating Dragon Island, the open-air rooftop of the palace.

Ames stood on the balcony with her hands behind her back, gazing up at the dazzling starry sky. Her long, cascading hair and black dress fluttered in the wind, like leaping black flames.

"Mom, I was just thinking about Dad..."

A childish voice sounded behind her, and a little girl in a dress skipped and hopped out of the room, stumbling and nearly falling.

The little girl was about seven or eight years old, with delicate features, a slightly chubby face, and bright, black eyes like gemstones. She was lively and adorable, and was the only offspring she and Han Xiao had conceived.

Hearing the sound, Ames turned around, her face showing a doting expression. She bent down and hugged her daughter, gently pinching her little nose, and whispered with a smile, "I missed Daddy too."

The little girl nestled comfortably in Ames's arms, blinking her big, bright eyes, and said with a slightly aggrieved expression:

"Dad hasn't come to see me in a long time, where did he go?"

"He is undertaking a great cause."

Ames smiled faintly.

"When will Daddy come back?" The little girl's eyes widened, her curiosity overflowing.

"I don't know either..."

Ames shook her head, holding her daughter in one arm, and pointed to the deep starry sky with the other, smiling softly:

"But no matter where he is, he will always be watching over you, and he will come back when you grow up."

The Real Universe, the Solar System, the far side of Neptune.

A small exploration space station covered in a black and blue coating floated silently in outer space, disguised as a meteorite, and looked inconspicuous.

At this very moment, in the observation room of the space station, several intelligent beings wearing heavy spacesuits are adjusting the instruments. Their body structure is humanoid, but they have hard, spiky skin and are short in stature, averaging only about 1.3 meters tall.

Most of these instruments are remote observation instruments, with numerous screens above them displaying bustling cityscapes of the world.

Just then, one of the hard-shelled figures in the room turned on the video recorder, cleared his throat, and spoke in his unique language:

"Sentence message at time 27,081: The observed target's behavior is normal today, with no abnormalities. It has not been detected by us yet. End."

"Another boring day~"

A thin, hard-shelled man next to him interjected, stretched in his seat, and his hard shell and bones made a crackling sound as they rubbed and collided.

The person recording the footage appeared to be the team leader; without turning around, he responded seriously:

"No anomalies are the best news. Our job is to ensure that the target hasn't experienced a technological explosion and developed an interstellar weapon capable of threatening us before the main force arrives."

"Yes, yes, I was just complaining. I really hope the next shift change comes soon. I'd rather be in cryogenic hibernation than have to keep an eye on this weak surface civilization every single hour... Sigh, I want to go home."

The thin, hard-shelled man who spoke first sounded helpless.

These intelligent beings do not belong to this region; they are Visitor from Afar from other star systems, from the Kabang Civilization.

In search of extraterrestrial civilizations, the Kabang Civilization dispatched expeditionary teams to interstellar space, aboard exploration ships with concealment and camouflage functions always activated, drifting through the universe for extended periods. All crew members were in cryogenic hibernation; when traces of civilization were discovered, the ship's intelligent system would automatically awaken the hibernating crew.

This group of Kabangians was one such interstellar explorer team. Years ago, they arrived in the Solar System, and their spaceship discovered probes launched into outer space by Earth's civilization, thus activating the team. Using the spaceship's onboard detection equipment, the team located Earth's civilization, then chose a remote location, unfolded their spaceship into a small space station, and further disguised themselves, thus going into hiding.

Adhering to the principles of non-interference, non-communication, and non-exposure, this group of Kabang explorers silently kept watch in the Solar System, using the interstellar observation equipment on their spaceships to keep Earth under long-term surveillance, and remained undetected.

"Less complaining, more focus on your mission." The captain of the Kabang explorers turned off the video recorder, paused abruptly, and said, "However, the main force is only 580 star-degrees away from us. We won't need to monitor them for much longer; we'll be free soon."

"That's true. I really want the mission to end soon. I can't stand eating these nutritional pastes every day. I want to go back and eat something better..." The thin Kabang member said with longing.

This explorer team had long ago sent news of Earth's civilization back to their home planet. The large fleet of the Kabang Civilization had already set off from their home, but they had not yet developed stargate technology. The main force had been traveling through the universe at near-light speed for a long time, and now they were not far away.

The many explorers present had been lurking in the Solar System for many years, merely serving as an outpost. Although their technology was far ahead, they still dared not rashly make contact with Earth's civilization. Their mission was to monitor and observe Earth's civilization around the clock and guide the subsequent main force... Only when the main force arrived would they have sufficient confidence to either invade and colonize or destroy it with ease. Only then could they consider how to deal with this surface civilization.

Just as the captain of the Kabang explorer team was about to say something, the space station's monitoring radar suddenly beeped with an urgent alert.

"Beep beep beep--"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then quickly gathered in front of the screen, only to be shocked to see that all the readings on it had suddenly become distorted.

What's going on?

The group of Kabang explorers quickly adjusted their instruments, but while the instruments themselves were functioning correctly, the various external parameters they detected became increasingly abnormal, especially the coefficients such as spatial curvature, which showed alarming shifts.

At the same time, centered on Earth's civilization, numerous spatial folds appeared, spreading outwards at an astonishing rate.

"What's going on? There's no similar event model in the database!"

Everyone stared wide-eyed, utterly shocked.

Just then, an invisible energy wave suddenly erupted, spreading rapidly into the universe, instantly sweeping across the major planets and their space station. The energy reading instantly exceeded the radar's power limit, burning out the radar device.

Everyone was startled and hurriedly touched their bodies, but they had not suffered any damage from this energy.

"This level of energy surge is unprecedented. What on earth is happening...?"

Just as the group was filled with astonishment, the spatial folding phenomenon had already spread to the vicinity of the space station. Through the porthole, they discovered that all of the outer space within their sight was rippled and twisted.

From their perspective, the entire universe appeared as a turbulent swirling mire, with a torrent of starlight and dark matter constantly swirling around.

Amidst the deep folds, they seemed to see strange phantoms, countless unseen civilizations and planets floating and disappearing within them.

In a daze, they suddenly had a gut feeling.

--This universe seems to be changing.

"Attention everyone! The new version will be online in five minutes. Everyone needs to work overtime today and log in as soon as possible. I'm going to check up on everyone, understand?"

Zhu Xiaohua gave a loud order, and seeing dozens of employees in the studio respond in unison, he nodded in satisfaction, turned and walked into his private office, closed the door, and looked at the new "Galaxy" game pod placed in the center of the room, rubbing his hands excitedly.

Since the Black Star Army video series created under the ID "Meat Bun Hits Dog" went viral, Zhu Xiaohua's career has been on track. He rented a floor as a studio, expanded his business, built a brand, and made a fortune.

Now that the popularity of "Galaxy" has reached an all-time high, he is paying more and more attention to this main business. Two days ago, "Galaxy" entered a version update, and today is the day the update is completed. Version 6.0 will be officially launched. He attaches great importance to this and has made preparations to log in as soon as possible.

The thought of unlocking higher levels in the new version made Zhu Xiaohua incredibly excited.

Although the storyline of * Galaxy * seems to have settled into a peaceful phase, making it difficult to find any major plot twists, he believes that players will be the main protagonists on the future stage of * Galaxy *. Having already unlocked the Calamity Grade, as their levels continue to rise, players, always eager for chaos, will undoubtedly be unable to contain themselves and will surely disrupt the game's balance, spontaneously generating countless conflict-ridden and entertaining stories. This will certainly provide ample material for video production...

Zhu Xiaohua already has an idea: she plans to adjust the focus of her videos, no longer concentrating on the Black Star Army, but instead pursuing the various clashes between players and NPC forces, creating various series and interviews.

The mere thought of having an inexhaustible supply of material and the possibility of a huge success made his bladder tighten with excitement.

"I'm going to make a fortune again this time!"

Zhu Xiaohua was excited. He skillfully lay down in the game pod, closed the lid, and the built-in screen displayed a countdown to the update being completed. He stared wide-eyed as the seconds ticked by, feeling that time was passing too slowly, and couldn't help but shake his leg.

"Just a few seconds left... Five, four, three, two, one! Okay!"

The countdown on the built-in screen reached its final second, and the login screen appeared, finally bringing us to the long-awaited 6.0 version.

Zhu Xiaohua was overjoyed and couldn't wait to start the game pod, quickly closing her eyes to prepare to enter the game.

However, after waiting with her eyes closed for more than a minute, she did not enter "Galaxy" as before. Zhu Xiaohua became anxious and couldn't help but open her eyes.

"Strange, why can't I log in? Is the game pod malfunctioning? No way, it was just replaced a couple of days ago..."

Zhu Xiaohua opened the game pod in confusion, then climbed out again, squatted down to check if there was a problem by opening the lid of the game pod.

But just then, there was a knock on the door, and several employees walked in, looking helpless.

"Boss, something's wrong, none of us can log in."

"Hmm? So I'm not the only one. It seems it's not a problem with the gaming pod. Have you checked the official website?"

"Look, it seems like no one can log in."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xiaohua paused for a moment, then walked to the computer, opened the official website of "Galaxy," and entered the web forum. She found a large number of players posting, but none of them could log in.

"It seems there's a bug in the new version, or maybe the computer itself is malfunctioning... But it's strange, everyone is unable to log in. Such a big thing, shouldn't the official team issue a statement to explain? Why hasn't there been any news?"

Zhu Xiaohua scrolled through the posts, somewhat puzzled.

"Why don't you ask them?" one employee suggested.

"Hmm, that works. I'll ask an official."

Zhu Xiaohua nodded.

He has been invited to attend several professional leagues as a guest, and he does have internal channels to contact official personnel, so I can take this opportunity to inquire about the situation.

Zhu Xiaohua picked up her phone from the table, opened a social media app, found an official she knew, and was about to send a message to inquire.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the office, accompanied by exclamations.

"What's going on outside? Why is it so noisy?"

Zhu Xiaohua frowned, paused editing the message, and strode out of the office. She immediately saw all the employees gathered at the window, craning their necks, seemingly looking at something.

"What are you all looking at? Get back to your posts... huh?"

Zhu Xiaohua was somewhat dissatisfied. She strode over, approached the window, and glanced outside subconsciously. Suddenly, she stopped talking.

On the street outside the window, all the pedestrians stopped and stared at the sky. People were peeking out from the balconies and windows of every floor of the surrounding buildings, all looking up at the sky with expressions of horror and shock on their faces.

Upon seeing this eerie sight, Zhu Xiaohua felt a sudden tightness in her chest, and slowly raised her head to look at the sky.

Just after dusk, as night fell, a dazzling Milky Way appeared in the sky. More stars lit up the night sky, like a waterfall, the Milky Way hanging upside down, swaying and spinning. The sky seemed to have become a vortex, completely distorted, as if someone was stirring the heavens.

"This, this is..."

Zhu Xiaohua stared blankly at this scene, her mouth agape without her realizing it.

Just as everyone was dumbfounded, a spatial ripple suddenly appeared in the sky, and interstellar fleets appeared out of thin air, as if they had always been there, instantly attracting the attention of everyone on the ground.

Zhu Xiaohua looked over as well, but suddenly his eyes widened as he stared blankly at the identical insignia on the outer armor of these warships and spaceships... The insignia was so familiar that he recognized it at a glance.

Before anyone could react, a more familiar figure suddenly appeared in the air, as if awakening from a deep sleep, and slowly opened his eyes.

The figure's expression shifted from initial bewilderment to surprise, and finally to nostalgia, with his lips moving slightly.

"My hometown, I'm back..."

Although they were far apart, for some reason, his voice seemed to disregard distance and resonate in the hearts of everyone watching him.

In that instant, Zhu Xiaohua, like all the employees around her, felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, her face blank with shock, and her mind completely empty.

Just then, the figure in the sky seemed to sense the presence of a familiar person. It looked down and gazed at Zhu Xiaohua across the vast night sky, revealing a playful smile.

Zhu Xiaohua snapped out of her daze, jolted awake, and took a large step back in disbelief. She tripped over a table and chair, and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, his face filled with utter disbelief, his lips trembled, and his voice involuntarily rose as he exclaimed:

"Black, black, black... Black Star?!"

On this day, the world underwent a dramatic change.

Countless phantoms that should have long since vanished into the annals of history have resurfaced.

Some call it "the Invasion of the Entire Territory," while others call it a "Turning Point of Fate."

Some people think this is a case of a cuckoo taking over someone else's nest, while others think it's about expanding the family business.

Some see this as the beginning of the end times, while others see it as the continuation of life.

Regardless of one's perspective, everything that happened on this day has been remembered by countless people, ushering in a new era.

(End of text)