Dragon Calm hovers near Planet Aquamarine, like a giant satellite. When people on the surface look up, they can find a huge golden island in the sky. Countless people look up in astonishment, stop in their tracks, and stand on the streets to look up and discuss it.
"What's that? It looks kind of familiar..." An old man shakily pressed his glasses and activated the binoculars.
"Mom! I've seen it in the textbook! It's the legendary Floating Dragon Island, the palace of the Dragon Emperor, adrift in space!" A child exclaimed excitedly, grabbing the hand of an Big Mom beside him and pointing to the sky.
"Oh! It's Ames." The Big Mom exclaimed in realization.
After breaking through the blockade of the Goddora Quantum Network, Planet Aquamarine came into contact with interstellar space. The people's level of knowledge improved dramatically in more than a decade, and they became familiar with the environment of the universe and famous figures from the Shattered Star Ring. Because of Han Xiao, the survivors of the alienation era on Planet Aquamarine were quite familiar with Ames.
The people not only know that she was once Black Star's superior, but also remember that the turning point for their integration with interstellar space came from Dragon Calm's protection. Ames holds a special place in the hearts of the people of Planet Aquamarine.
Upon seeing Dragon Calm appear near Planet Aquamarine, many people were surprised and puzzled. They called their friends and shared the news, which spread like wildfire and attracted widespread attention.
Personnel from various conglomerates operating businesses on Planet Aquamarine also noticed Dragon Calm's presence, and were filled with suspicion. They hurriedly inquired with the Planet Aquamarine government, eager to find out the reason.
Meanwhile, Ames and the others arrived at the dock in a small spaceship and met with Bennett.
"Your Dragon Emperor, the Planet Aquamarine welcomes you." Bennett bowed, his tone solemn and full of reverence.
He was very familiar with Han Xiao; they had been friends for over twenty years, which was why he was so casual in his attitude. However, he wasn't as familiar with Ames. Bennett treated her according to universal interstellar etiquette, and even though he knew that Han Xiao and Ames had a close relationship, he didn't dare to overstep his bounds.
Ames waved her hand, indicating that there was no need for such formalities, and chuckled, "Black Star has already mentioned my requirements, and Jenny has also contacted you. My visit to see you this time is mainly just a formality."
Bennett nodded steadily. He had received a notification from Han Xiao some time ago, informing him that Dragon Calm was going to be stationed on Planet Aquamarine. He was shocked at the time, but then overjoyed, realizing that this was a rare opportunity. He quickly mobilized his manpower to cooperate with Dragon Calm's work.
According to Ames's plan, the matter was kept secret until it was finalized, and then announced. The purpose was to create a sense of surprise, cause a sensation in the star system, and help Dragon Calm break the previous preconceived notions, so that more interstellar citizens could develop a new understanding of Dragon Calm.
Therefore, Bennett did not notify the people of Planet Aquamarine in advance, and only now intends to announce it.
"I will hold a press conference in the name of Planet Aquamarine to announce that Dragon Calm has established its headquarters here."
How long will it take to get it done?
"It will only take a few hours. Some interstellar media outlets have staff here, so inviting them shouldn't take long. What do you think?"
Ames nodded in agreement. Dragon Calm would be staying here long-term. Her purpose in coming was to attend the press conference and have others confirm the truth of the matter.
"By the way, I just encountered a group of extremists from the Star Pupil Protoss. They were loitering near Planet Aquamarine, and there were dangerous Psionic Energy bombs in their ship's cabin. They seemed to be planning to attack Planet Aquamarine. I killed them and seized their ship. There was video footage on it. You can handle it; it's not my fault."
Bennett was taken aback.
The Star Pupil Protoss... This is because of Black Star, right? Their hatred for Black Star has been transferred to Planet Aquamarine.
"I will inform Lord Black Star."
Bennett's tone was solemn. This involved another Beyond Grade A race, and it was not easy for him, the leader of a civilization that had not yet reached the galaxy level, to handle it. Therefore, he was going to ask Han Xiao for his opinion.
Although the incident was stopped in time, it can be said that Black Star Implicated Planet Aquamarine, causing an innocent Planet Aquamarine Planet Aquamarine suffered similar undeserved disasters before, such as when Stefan, under Manison's command, targeted Planet Aquamarine as a weakness in order to deal with Black Star, thus instigating a catastrophe.
Bennett didn't complain. He knew very well that since he was enjoying the huge benefits brought by Black Star, he would inevitably attract the attention of Black Star's enemies. There was no such thing as a sure thing.
High-level struggles are like raging waves, and the current Planet Aquamarine is merely a small boat on the ocean. A slight misstep could lead to being swept away and suffering a catastrophic loss. However, to abandon the opportunity for the rise of civilization and turn against one's own Protector simply because of fear of Black Star's enemies would be truly a pathetic act... If the Six Nations were in power, they might have considered such a choice, but Bennett would not waver.
Now that Dragon Calm has arrived, with a Beyond Grade A expert overseeing the area, the safety index of Planet Aquamarine will rise several levels. No one will consider Planet Aquamarine a weakness of Black Star anymore, thus eliminating this hidden danger in one fell swoop.
Bennett naturally didn't know Ames's motives for coming to Planet Aquamarine, so in his opinion, Han Xiao must have been behind this, otherwise Ames wouldn't have given him the honor. He couldn't help but admire Han Xiao's foresight.
Three hours later.
Many interstellar media outlets gathered together, with reporters waiting at the press conference venue in the government building for the speaker to arrive.
"The government of Planet Aquamarine was in a hurry to hold a press conference as soon as Dragon Calm appeared; it must be related to Dragon Calm."
"Their urgent invitation suggests they might have something important to announce."
"No way, logically speaking, Dragon Calm wanders around everywhere and never stays in one place for too long. It's not surprising that he happened to come to Planet Aquamarine."
As many reporters were whispering among themselves, they suddenly heard a large number of government staff carrying equipment into the venue and setting up broadcasting equipment.
Seeing this, everyone was secretly surprised.
Is this going to be broadcast globally simultaneously? This is usually only used for major events.
Just as everyone was speculating, the doors to the venue suddenly burst open, and all the reporters turned to look, their eyes widening in surprise and disbelief.
Instead of the familiar spokesperson for the Planet Aquamarine government, the person who entered was Bennett, the head of government himself. Beside him stood a prominent figure who sent shockwaves through all the reporters – the Dragon Emperor, Ames.
Whoosh--
All the reporters were stunned. This was a press conference held by the government of Planet Aquamarine, and Ames was actually here?!
Stunned, they stared blankly as Bennett and Ames stepped onto the stage.
"There is something to announce to the entire world and even the entire star system." Bennett cleared his throat, looked around at the group, and said solemnly, "From today onwards, Dragon Calm will be permanently residing in the outer space of Planet Aquamarine. On behalf of the Aquamarine Federation, I welcome our new neighbor."
Before anyone could react, Ames spoke calmly.
"Dragon Calm has been drifting for too long. I've decided to stop wandering. From today onwards, this will be Dragon Calm's base camp."
The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; everyone was stunned.
boom--
The next moment, a commotion erupted, everyone's expression changed drastically, and the entire place was in an uproar!
All the reporters were trembling with excitement.
We've run into big news!
The news that Dragon Calm had established a base on Planet Aquamarine spread like wildfire, sweeping across the Shattered Star Ring like a hurricane, leaving all the forces that knew of it utterly astonished.
The fact that Dragon Calm had stopped wandering was seen by the interstellar citizens as a signal that Ames was finally no longer languishing and was going to officially start building its power. But that wasn't the most surprising thing... What shocked the entire star system was the location of Dragon Calm's headquarters: it was actually on Black Star's home planet?!
All the major powers know that the Black Star Army's most obvious base is its headquarters, which is usually located on Planet Golden Gate. However, after Han Xiao obtained a seat in the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Council with the help of the Planet Aquamarine Star Civilization, many people assumed that Planet Aquamarine had become Black Star's second base, not to mention that it was his home planet.
So what does Dragon Calm mean by this? Is he establishing his own base in Black Star's stronghold?
Is it merely that the alliance between two Beyond Grade A forces has become closer?
No, that's definitely not all!
When Heber challenged them, Black Star and Dragon Emperor were on the same side. It was common knowledge in the Shattered Star Ring that the Black Star Army and Dragon Calm were allies. But allies are allies, their territories were clearly defined, and their areas of operation did not conflict. The Black Star Army had many branches, while Dragon Calm was a wanderer with no fixed territory.
But now, Dragon Calm has actually stayed on Planet Aquamarine. This isn't some random branch he set up; it's his own headquarters!
Such major interstellar powers, unless there are special reasons, even allies would not allow their main bases to be in the same place; at most, they would establish branches in the territory of their allies. The fact that Dragon Emperor moved its home to its home planet, Black Star, is clearly not to seize territory. According to the news, Dragon Calm will not move easily.
This represents absolute trust!
They trust each other to ensure they won't betray one another; otherwise, they wouldn't entrust their backs to an ally. Such trust is extremely rare and precious among major interstellar powers.
The relationship between the two sides has become far too close, exceeding the scope of ordinary allies. It's so close that various factions can't help but consider another possibility—could these two... perhaps merge?
Generally speaking, a Beyond Grade A won't easily become another Beyond Grade A individual's subordinate, so Beyond Grade A factions are basically incompatible. However, besides submission, cooperation, and alliances, there is another type of relationship, common among ordinary beings but rarely seen among Beyond Grade A...
The various factions were not just making wild guesses. Based on Black Star and Dragon Emperor's past deeds, this was not unfounded. Moreover, some time ago, when Black Star went to meet the head of the Empire, he brought Ames with him, which had already exceeded the stance of a neutral faction!
This is a dangerous sign.
If the two parties truly transcend their alliance and formally merge, it would mean that a crushing, unofficial force would emerge from the Shattered Star Ring, once again reshaping the power structure of the star system.
Many forces tried to force the Black Star Army to break with Dragon Calm, but they failed and had to accept the situation. Now, many forces are still unwilling to see the relationship between Dragon Calm and the Black Star Army become closer.
This has triggered alarm bells within many factions, as it involves their own vital interests.
Leaving aside the thoughts of the major powers in the Shattered Star Ring, many conglomerates were invigorated.
The prospects for Planet Aquamarine were already promising, and now with Dragon Calm overseeing it, its potential has increased dramatically.
The consortium that had already partnered with Longtan decided to make a large additional investment, and many more interstellar consortia, seeing the business opportunities brought by Dragon Calm, sent representatives to Planet Aquamarine to seek cooperation.
The people of Planet Aquamarine had no objections; they were simply pleasantly surprised.
Shattered World, the Gaolu Star Cluster.
Strands of warp light streaked across the universe, stopping in the outer space of a blue-purple planet—the fleet Han Xiao belonged to.
Although it was the main fleet, most of its personnel had been dispersed to explore other unknown planets, so the fleet was not very large at this time.
This blue-purple planet was the trading hub of this star region in Han Xiao's memory, and it was the target he planned to explore personally. In his previous life, it was called Planet Pangurid.
Because there were no stargate passages in the undeveloped areas, the fleet flew for some time before reaching its destination.
"The designated location has been reached, Commander. Please issue the next instructions."
Aurora snapped to attention, feigning seriousness, and reported to Han Xiao with the posture of a soldier, doing a fairly convincing job. However, she couldn't help but laugh as soon as she finished speaking, only stopping after being glared at by Hila.
"Engineering Department, first deploy a stargate here, then send Detection ships to orbit this planet, map its topography, and use detection equipment to sense life signals and underground resources. Once the map is complete, send out ground exploration teams to conduct a comprehensive global survey, and then..."
Before Han Xiao could finish speaking, Phillip suddenly appeared in his mind, interrupting him.
"Master, master, there's an urgent message from Planet Aquamarine!"
The message unfolded within the Quantum Network Vision. It was from Bennett, indicating that he had successfully met Dragon Calm and also mentioned the Avitan Wraiths, attaching a video recording from inside the spaceship. The video showed a group of Avitan Wraiths plotting an attack on Planet Aquamarine, and he asked him how to handle it.
Han Xiao immediately raised an eyebrow.
"Sisko didn't provoke me, but someone from his tribe wants to get back at me... The Avitan Wraiths? I think there is such a small organization. Aren't they hostile to the Sorokin? Even I've been targeted, well, maybe not really targeted... They want to carry out a suicide attack to blow up the entire planet. Is that some kind of deep-seated hatred? That's really reckless. And where did they get their advanced Psionic Energy bombs...?"
Han Xiao felt somewhat helpless. This was one of the side effects of occupying the Evolution Cube. He was already used to such extremists. Individuals have different psychological tolerance levels. Disasters and wars have always been good for catalyzing extremist organizations. Logic has never been the only way for an intelligent being to judge things. Motives derived from emotions are stronger than logic, and hatred is one of the strongest motives. As long as a group is not without desires, there will always be people who are swayed by them.
However, the retaliatory actions of these extremists actually did Sisko a disservice.
Han Xiao shook his head; he had no intention of letting things slide or pretending nothing had happened.
Now that Planet Aquamarine has a seat in the Civilization Council, it is equivalent to receiving the treatment of a star system-level civilization and being protected by the same peace treaty. The people of Sisko have presented an opportunity, which is a perfect chance to launch an attack.
He replied with a message containing instructions for Bennett:
"Preserve the evidence. Contact the Amethyst Civilization in my name and expose this to the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Council, making it known to all civilizations. Leave the rest to me."
While it's impossible to do anything to Sisko since this didn't happen, it's still okay to annoy him a bit.
A small group of clansmen caused trouble, handing themselves a handle to be used against them, and in the end, the entire Star Pupil Protoss had to take the blame. I wonder if Sisko will feel exhausted.