Chapter 1314 Reaction
After sending off the expedition team, Han Xiao stood at the dock for a while. At this time, Guzar, who was wearing a dynasty military uniform, walked over from behind and stood side by side.
The bearded Guzar took out a red cigarette from his shirt pocket, wiped his fingers, lit the cigarette, and took a deep breath. Then, he spat out a cloud of smoke and twisted his mouth a little before speaking. “This is only the first batch. There will be a second and a third expedition team in the future. The deeper dimensions are unpredictable. I hope that the World Tree’s main body that you mentioned really exists. Don’t let them sacrifice for nothing.”
“Don’t be too pessimistic. Maybe they will come back safe,” Han Xiao replied casually.
Guzar did not comment. He took out another cigarette from his pocket and passed it to Han Xiao. “This is a product specially provided by the dynasty’s upper echelons. You can’t buy it on the market. Try it?”
“I stopped smoking.” Han Xiao waved his hands.
“Is that so?” Guzar put away his cigarette and shook his head. “Speaking of which, I’ve never heard of you having any hobbies. Don’t you Mechanics have any entertainment needs?”
“How can smoking and drinking be more fun than machines?” Han Xiao glanced at him. “Just say what you want to say.”
“Can’t I talk to you?” Guzar shrugged.
Although Black Star had beaten them up not long ago, the two parties had now come to an agreement. The battle before was purely official business, and there was no enmity between them.
Most Beyond Grade As admired the strong, and the direct descendants of the three Universal Civilizations were no exception. They all respected Black Star’s achievements and abilities.
“Next time. I’m quite busy.” Han Xiao patted Guzar’s shoulder.
Guzar sighed and said, “Alright, I’m here to tell you that His Excellency the Ruler is waiting for you online. He wants to talk to you about something.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
Han Xiao turned around and walked into the dynasty’s outpost base. He went to the private communication room and picked up Marbruce’s call.
“Ruler Marbruce, what’s the matter?”
“Our exploration has made some progress. The probe has collected the exact coordinates. The Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device can already reach the territory of the World Tree Civilization, but we have no intention of sending troops for the time being.” The Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device of the Federation of Light had extremely high strategic value, so it was extremely useful.
It was a pity that the three Universal Civilizations only allowed him to interfere in limited areas. Most of the time, they only treated him as a consultant and did not allow him to use the World Tree passageway to send anything.
“Is there anything I can help you with?”
“We plan to bury some detection equipment and strategic killing weapons in uninhabited areas. For this, we need more intelligence, such as the star map on the other side and the division of factions… The efficiency of our detection is low, and as the detection range expands, the risk of encountering the creatures of the World Tree Civilization will also increase.”
“So?” Han Xiao raised his brows.
“We plan to try to connect to the other party’s network after we’re done with our preparation and see if we can steal some of their information,” Marbruce said. “We’re here to ask for your opinion.” Han Xiao thought for a while and said, “If it’s only superficial information, as long as we enter from an unimportant terminal node and erase the data before letting the Beyond Grade As analyze the other party’s basic code words, the risk is controllable.”
This was not hacking into the other party’s network but browsing through the information on the internet. Therefore, the difficulty was not high. The World Tree Civilization also had a communication system in the form of a quantum network, which was basically standard for advanced civilizations. However, the foundation of the communication method was not a quantum network but a mental network that the World Tree had. It was just that the latter was too transparent and simple, not as diverse as the quantum network.
“Then let the Beyond Grade A Mechanics take the lead and use the computational ability of the main artificial intelligence to gather the surface information of the other party’s network. When the time comes, the intelligence will be shared with you.”
After chatting for a while, Marbruce hung up the call. His purpose of calling was mainly to inform him of the exploration plan.
Han Xiao put down the communicator and curled his lips.
“Other than the secondary dimension expeditionary army, they did not allow me to interfere with other exploration tasks. It seems like they are still wary…”
The current situation was far from the stage of unity in his previous life. Although it was not to the extent of scheming against each other, they could not completely trust each other like they did in his previous life and cooperate without any worries.
After leaving the dynasty’s outpost and returning to the army base, Han Xiao summoned Phillip and issued a special summoning order to the hundreds of Beyond Grade A seeds in the army.
As the three Universal Civilizations strictly controlled the World Tree passageway, he did not have much preparation to do at the moment. Other than improving the Void God’s Trait Transformation and allowing his assembly line to churn out soldiers all day long, he could only wait for the players to work hard and slowly provide EXP.
Therefore, he planned to use the advantage of the interface to give the hundreds of Beyond Grade A seeds that had transferred to the army a year ago a long period of special training. He hoped that a new Beyond Grade A would be born from these people and strengthen the association’s top-tier strength.
After sending the message, Han Xiao left the room and walked around the base for a while. Suddenly, he came across Jenny.
Han Xiao stopped in his tracks and said, “Ames has already returned to Floating Dragon. Why are you still here?”
Jenny crossed her arms and snorted. “It wasn’t easy for me to get a holiday because of my refuge. I don’t want to go back so soon to work overtime. Let Ames take care of it herself. I’ll have some free time.”
“So, you’ve rested well. No wonder your hairline recovered a little. I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“If you don’t know how to talk, you can keep quiet. No one will think you’re mute.” Jenny rolled her eyes. “Then have a good rest here. However, if Ames comes to ask for you, don’t expect me to help you.” Han Xiao shook his head and smiled before taking his leave.
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard Jenny speak again. This time, her tone was a little hesitant.
“Um… I haven’t seen Harrison in a while. He hasn’t replied to my messages either. Where did he go?”
Han Xiao turned around and looked at her with surprise. “The two of you really hooked up? I thought you rejected him, but it seems like you’re the same as Ames; your body is more honest than your mind.”
“Bullsh*t!” Jenny was furious. “I have nothing to do with that annoying fellow! I’m just curious!”
Han Xiao did not believe her at all, only casually saying, “He went on a secret mission. You probably won’t see him for a long time.” “Secret mission?” Jenny hesitated. “Is it dangerous?” “Of course,” Han Xiao replied straightforwardly.
Jenny choked and hesitated for two seconds before whispering, “Then please tell him…”
“Tell him what?” Han Xiao immediately became alert.
Damn sister, be careful. Don’t set up a flag so easily. It will lower Harrison’s survival rate.
Jenny gritted her teeth, turned her head, and stubbornly said, “Just ask him, when will he return the money he owes me?”
“Tsk, your words don’t even match what you’re thinking.” Han Xiao exposed Jenny mercilessly.
“It’s fine if you don’t want to help me!” Jenny was furious.
“I’ll ask… but I might not be able to contact him at the moment. Let’s talk when there’s a chance.” Han Xiao waved and left.
When he turned the corner, he looked back and saw Jenny still standing there with a lost expression.
“Tsk, and you dare say that nothing’s happened.”
Han Xiao smacked his lips and was about to leave when Phillip suddenly jumped out with a face full of surprised joy.
“Master, hum… Another army officer has become a Beyond Grade A!”
“Hmm? Let me see!”
Han Xiao was overjoyed and immediately switched to the surveillance interface.
In the image, a figure with Pugilist flames burning all over his body was sitting in the middle of the galaxy like a small star. It was Lothaire, who had been in seclusion for decades.
“After holding it in for so long, this guy finally gave birth… Bah, he advanced.”
Han Xiao was relieved.
Initially, he thought that Lothaire would need a few more years to complete his transformation, but he did not expect him to break through this barrier so quickly.
Could it be that he got inspired by seeing me defeat the three Universal Civilizations?
After swapping into the King, Han Xiao teleported to Lothaire’s personal training hall. The moment he looked up, he saw Lothaire completing his final evolution.
Han Xiao summoned his mechanical army and set up an energy shield around him. After waiting for a period of time, the Pugilist flames on Lothaire’s body slowly retracted. They seemed to take on a consistency like a solid crystal, and just by looking at it, one could feel an oppressive sharpness.
The nature of Pugilists’ energy was ever-changing and varied. Lothaire’s core energy attributes were ‘Sharp’ and ‘Armor Penetration’.
Lothaire opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings, immediately seeing Han Xiao. He quickly flew down and landed in front of Han Xiao.
“Your Excellency Black Star, I didn’t disappoint you.”
Lothaire’s attitude was still respectful, and he did not lose himself due to the sudden increase in strength.
Han Xiao squeezed his shoulder and said with a smile, “You’re a Beyond Grade A now, so you can address me as an equal. What do you think? Do you want to start your own organization?”
“I’m still willing to be your blade in the shadows. If not for your nurturing, I wouldn’t have my current achievements.” Lothaire shook his head and continued to address him respectfully.
Usually, Beyond Grade As would not continue to be under others, but Lothaire intended to repay the favor. Furthermore, the Black Star Army was an anomaly, and there were already two Beyond Grade As working as subordinates. With their seniors as an example, those who came later would be more accepting.
“Don’t underestimate yourself. I helped you because you have potential.” As Han Xiao spoke, he punched Lothaire’s chest, creating a dull thud.
Lothaire took a step back and rubbed his aching chest.
Seeing this, Han Xiao shook his head. “You have to continue training your body. You’re still too weak right now. In the eyes of ordinary people, Beyond Grade As are already at the peak, but in the eyes of us veterans, this is just the beginning. You’ve just stepped into this threshold, so there’s still a lot to train. I can fight dozens of new Beyond Grade As like you.”
“I saw the live broadcast of your confrontation with the three Universal Civilizations, and I have no doubt about that.”
Lothaire nodded. He was also convinced by Han Xiao’s performance back then and was filled with respect.
“Since you’ve become a Beyond Grade A, let me give you a gift. I’ll get you a Universal Treasure weapon in a while. What type do you want? If you don’t want mechanical equipment, I can ask a Mage to help you build equipment with Enchantments,” Han Xiao said.
Lothaire thought about it. “A pair of daggers will do.”
“Alright, send me the specific requirements after you’ve thought it through. I’ll customize it for you.”
Han Xiao smiled and suddenly changed the topic.
“By the way, I have a mission for you.” “Where? Who’s the target? When’s the deadline?”
Lothaire immediately became serious, displaying the professionalism and discipline he had instilled in himself. “Sigh, don’t keep thinking about fighting and killing. It won’t be good.” Han Xiao coughed and said, “There’s a genius Pugilist with extraordinary potential who is undergoing special training here. He already has a Beyond Grade A as his teacher. I hope you can train him for some time too and teach him some experience.”
Karlot’s bottleneck was still in the early stages, and only by accumulating more insight would he be able to level up quickly. However, the insight provided by each expert was different. Silver Shadow was almost completely squeezed dry of his insights, but Lothaire, who had just been born, would be a new crop field to harvest.
“Alright, I will do my best to teach him.” Lothaire nodded. He was also curious.
The potential of a genius Pugilist who could make the Army Commander find a Beyond Grade A to be his teacher, just how shocking would it be?
In a turquoise space, the intertwined roots of the turquoise trees acted as the ground, and they were translucent. One could see the energy that was like light bubbles flowing within the roots, giving off a sense of green vitality.
In the middle of the space, a large number of roots rose up and formed a huge throne. A tall figure sat on it with his eyes closed as though he was sleeping. Vine-like roots crawled all over his body, and the blue and green fluorescence flowed along his body like lively little elves.
Suddenly, this figure trembled slightly and slowly opened his eyes. He raised his hand and gently patted the armrest of his seat.
The next moment, the roots on the ground moved on their own, intertwining and transforming into a flower bud. Then, the flower bud opened, and a tall figure appeared out of thin air, clad in a gorgeous robe.
As soon as he appeared, the tall figure bowed to the figure on the throne and softly asked, “What can I do for you?”
Hearing this, the figure on the throne leaned forward slightly and slowly said, “An abnormal reaction has occurred in the information state warning network. There might be an unknown Information Form that has interacted with us. Someone might be spying on us. Go and investigate.”
“Understood, Your Excellency Tree King.”