Chapter 929: Preparations Complete, Construction Begins

Chapter 929: Preparation Complete, Construction Begins

As the final piece of the knowledge puzzle clicked into place, the world before his eyes seemed to undergo a subtle transformation, his perception of space shifting in an almost imperceptible way.

Han Xiao lifted his gaze to the cup resting on the table. The cup’s edges and corners shimmered with an array of mathematical formulas, its surface stripped of superfluous details, leaving only precise lines that outlined the cup’s spatial structure. Sweeping his vision outward, he realized every object in the room had taken on a similar form, their existence in space no longer singular but multifaceted.

He blinked, and the sensation faded, restoring his ordinary sight.

“This is the result of [Transcendent Spatial Cognition], elevating my spatial awareness to a new plane.”

Han Xiao steadied his thoughts. The experience had felt like simultaneously maintaining perspectives across multiple dimensions—ascending and descending in a single moment.

[Interdimensional Theory] itself offered only one specialization, yet its effects were remarkable, comprehensively enhancing mobility and control skills while bolstering mental resilience. The other two specializations, however, stemmed from the mastery of knowledge—a vital asset.

Generally, players couldn’t afford the costs of all professions’ expertise, making it nearly impossible to master everything. Yet the “hardcore” enthusiasts were never ordinary. In past lives, some mechanical players had indeed mastered all knowledge, and Han Xiao was among them. These two specializations, though powerful, were familiar territory to him—rare achievements that few could claim.

“With these two specializations, my strength has advanced a tier. I am now a fully realized, elite mechanical artisan.”

Han Xiao felt a surge of satisfaction, quietly calculating his newfound power. The enhanced [Ultimate Knowledge Master] and the newly acquired [Universal Mechanic] had elevated him a level, his physical strength now matching the pinnacle achievable after attaining [Perfect Armament Resonance]. He stood firm at this threshold.

The higher his mechanical affinity, the greater the cumulative bonus from armament-based specializations. All he needed was to secure [Perfect Armament Resonance] completely—and then he would be whole!

At that point, his mechanical abilities would only lag behind those of [Mechanica] Mewton by one exclusive specialization—closer than he might think.

“Now that all profession knowledge is in hand, the remaining task is upgrading the knowledge itself.” Han Xiao’s lips curved into a smile.

In past lives, perhaps some players had mastered all knowledge, but none had ever fully leveled every single discipline. That was Han Xiao’s goal—to achieve this feat. To do so, he’d need vast experience, and the accumulated reserves of this version were insufficient. He’d have to continue his efforts in the next iteration.

No one in the past had accomplished such a monumental task, so Han Xiao couldn’t know if fully leveling all profession knowledge would yield additional rewards. Regardless, with a thriving player market, fully leveling all profession knowledge was a path he was destined to walk—a sure investment.

The attribute panel still bore an extra 500 points of free attribute allocation. Han Xiao glanced at his own stats—his intelligence had finally surpassed ten thousand. Intelligence was the primary attribute for mechanics, governing the properties of mechanical constructs, the force of mechanical advantages, the efficiency of mechanical control, and the output of mechanical damage. His endurance, however, was more than sufficient; his body was already too robust for his liking. The path of allocating all points into intelligence remained clear.

After reviewing the dramatic stat increases twice, Han Xiao nodded in satisfaction, closing the panel. He chewed on two high-concentration nutritional bars as a celebratory snack, then boarded his private spacecraft and traveled alone to a satellite headquarters. There, he found an abandoned large-scale open-air training ground, activated the secondary dimensional barracks, and released all his mechanical lifeforms into the open.

Over the years, Han Xiao’s forces had grown to over a hundred thousand mechanical lifeforms, a dozen divine weapons serving as their leaders, standing in a row before him.

The vast courtyard teemed with mechanical lifeforms of various models. They paused and played, then all bowed their heads in unison to show respect—some kneeling on one knee, others bowing their heads low. The scene was grand.

“Sovereign.”

“All rise.” Han Xiao raised his hand, turning to the foremost figure, the ancient one. In a low voice, he spoke: “The time has come. The mechanical civilization plan I spoke of can now be enacted.”

“I will not disappoint the Sovereign.” The ancient one’s mechanical features formed a resolute expression.

Han Xiao lifted his finger, and a holographic screen materialized across the sky, displaying a star map of the Guolu Star Cluster. The image rapidly zoomed in, locking onto a planet within a single star system, nestled within his territory.

“This planet will be your new homeland. It possesses abundant minerals and metallic resources. Youzu, when the time comes, lead all mechanical lifeforms to settle there. I will ensure the army provides resource support. Your only requirement is to expand as much as possible, grow your population.”

Since he sought to develop a mechanical civilization, Han Xiao released these mechanical lifeforms from their dimensional barracks, no longer needing to keep them on standby.

The mechanical lifeforms, rejuvenated by the [Fire Seed Awakening], were now true living beings, their cores brimming with silicon-based neural fibers, possessing independent consciousness and the ability to reproduce.

Mechanical lifeforms reproduced not through conventional means, but asexually. Two or more such beings extracted their own fire seed genetic code, passing it to newly produced or carefully assembled progenitor mechanical bodies, “incubating” a new offspring. Over time, through sustained energy infusion, the offspring’s fire seed matured, eventually growing into a fully realized mechanical lifeform.

Lifeforms created this way shared the life energy of the first-generation ancestor mechanical beings. Their “bloodline” purity and basic attributes naturally fell short of the first generation, and the first-generation progenitors would enter a weakened state due to the immense source consumption…

But the advantage was clear: they could mass-produce newborns without Han Xiao’s direct intervention, boosting production efficiency by millions or even billions. Even the weakest mechanical lifeforms surpassed mechanical soldiers in growth potential. This was the essence of developing a mechanical civilization—forming an enormous-scale manufacturing facility.

Mewton already possessed a well-developed mechanical civilization as a barracks, with an endless supply of troops.

With these hundred thousand progenitor mechanical lifeforms, if he let them develop for a few years, he’d have a new mechanical lifeform army at his disposal… Han Xiao mused silently.

All the mechanical lifeforms looked up at the holographic screen, watching the planet’s three-dimensional projection, stirring up excitement.

“I will not disappoint you.” Youzu lowered his gaze, adopting a solemn tone.

“Indeed. Then I recommend one more outstanding individual, and I shall grant him the title of divine weapon.” Han Xiao smiled.

The two new specializations had elevated his mechanical skill levels by three, meaning the [Divine Creation] title now had three additional slots, allowing him to craft new divine weapons. Youzu could select one from among them—a move that also helped solidify his leadership status.

Han Xiao didn’t linger on the development of the mechanical civilization, needing Youzu to manage it. The stronger his advocate’s position, the smoother the mechanical civilization’s progress.

Youzu, upon hearing this, raised his spear and pointed. In a deep voice, he commanded: “The Banner of Heaven, emerge.”

Han Xiao followed the spear’s direction and saw a towering mechanical lifeform clad in heavy armor emerge, as if draped in battle armor. It bore various weapons across its body, six arms—two on its shoulders, two on its back, and two at its waist. A massive alloy shield was magnetically attached to its back, resembling a large black banner.

“He is the most skilled warrior among his kind, having defeated hundreds of his peers, seized various weapons, and excels at leading armies. I humbly request he be granted the title of divine weapon.” Youzu declared.

Han Xiao glanced at the Banner of Heaven, noting that its mechanical equipment was composed of spoils from defeated foes, integrated into its frame.

These mechanical lifeforms possessed high growth potential. The [Mechanical Fusion: Bestowal] effect allowed them to modify their hardware structures, with many now capable of functions beyond their pre-awakening models.

“You have the merit to become my divine weapon. Use this power wisely.” Han Xiao raised his palm, a brilliant golden sphere of mechanical force materializing in his hand like a thundercloud.

With a flick of his wrist, the mechanical force surged into the Banner of Heaven, reshaping its form and forging it into a new divine weapon.

Han Xiao didn’t linger to witness the transformation, turning instead to Youzu. “The authority over mechanical lifeforms is temporarily yours. First, assist me with a task.”

…

Black Ling Star.

After the evolution block’s transformation years ago, the Black Ling clan had grown more intelligent and agile, developing visual and sensory organs, gradually adapting to life on the ground rather than in caves. Under the high-efficiency guidance of the mental network, they erected numerous stone cities.

The largest of these was the sprouting tribe’s city, at its center stood a towering stone statue carved in the likeness of Black Star. At its peak, a metallic cylinder was placed—the totem of the evolved one.

Evolutionary energy radiated continuously from the totem, its effects unparalleled for species with evolutionary potential. The Black Ling clan’s evolutionary journey had been condensed into hundreds or thousands of times. Today’s Black Ling clan differed markedly from their ancestors. The proportion of shell-covered body parts had shrunk, their insect-like and beastly features diminished, and a portion had even begun to stand upright, though their spines remained hunched, forming the prototype of a bipedal creature.

Their freed forelimbs began to function as hands, starting to use tools.

To date, Han Xiao had not advanced the Black Ling clan’s civilization. He focused more on enhancing their inherent qualities. In his view, perfecting the species first would yield greater results when aiding their development.

The Black Ling clan’s racial trait was a mental communication network, boosting efficiency in communication and knowledge dissemination. Their latent potential leaned toward mental prowess, and the totem subtly enhanced the clan’s collective mental strength.

The Black Ling clan also bred prolifically. After over a decade of reproduction, they’d produced several generations of offspring, their population swelling significantly.

At this moment, in the center of the sprouting tribe, a group of young Black Ling beings played around an adult. This adult was the tribe’s leader.

Now, the sprouting tribe’s leader wore a rough pelt cloak, gripping a crude wooden staff carved from a strange stone. His appearance starkly contrasted with other Black Ling clan members, who typically remained unclothed.

Years prior, after the evolution block’s transformation, a few mutated Black Ling emerged, capable of independently constructing the mental communication network, replacing the strange stone as the server. These mutants attained high status within the clan, being honored as “sages.”

The sprouting tribe’s leader was the strongest of these mutants, his mental network accommodating the most individuals. He was also the envoy of the Black Star deity, earning him the title of “Great Sage.”

“Great Sage, why do we worship the Black Star deity?” a group of younglings chattered in the mental network around the leader.

The leader paused, his voice earnest as he built the foundations of faith for his descendants: “The Black Star deity bestowed upon us the gift of evolution, the fire of civilization. He is all-powerful, a magnificent existence.”

“I don’t believe it. I think the Great Sage is stronger than the Black Star deity.” the younglings laughed.

“You know nothing of true power.” The leader pointed upward at the floating spacecraft. “See that? It’s called a spaceship. It brought us from our distant homeland. With our own efforts, we’d never return after ten million years. The Black Star deity’s ships can blanket the sky, tearing through the earth in an instant—that’s the might of a god.”

“This isn’t our homeland?”

“Alas, our homeland was seized. Without the Black Star deity’s guidance, perhaps we would have…” The leader sighed, shaking his head.

At that moment, over a hundred small black dots appeared in the azure sky—all were spacecraft, slowly descending upon the sprouting tribe, instantly stirring the Black Ling clan. Many gathered in the square, looking up at the arriving warships.

The hatch opened, and Youzu emerged, landing before the sprouting tribe’s leader. The surrounding Black Ling clan members scattered, yet remained calm.

In their eyes, these metallic beings were divine messengers of the Black Star deity.

“I am the chief envoy under the Sovereign, here to escort you away from this planet.”

The sprouting tribe’s leader rose, his voice still unrefined from incomplete evolution: “Where will the Black Star deity take us?”

“New Home.”

……

With the backing of vast investment conglomerates, the Black Star Legion secured ample funds to procure engineering equipment in abundance, preparing for the construction of its forces, and the entire process proceeded smoothly without any significant setbacks.

After nearly a month of preparation, under the watchful gaze of the entire cosmos, the Legion's construction force finally set out officially, carrying with them personnel and resources, heading toward the construction site on the radiant world.

Kaji, Rena, Sivva, and Melos spearheaded the construction efforts, while Han Xiao, needing to evade some political turbulence within the Empire, was only responsible for remote supervision. He had already left behind the blueprints for the territory's construction, so his physical presence was not required.

On the very day the Black Star Legion's construction force departed, Han Xiao arrived at the portal leading to the Central Sea, accompanied only by Odella and a retinue of close aides.

This journey served dual purposes: on one hand, to evade some political heat; on the other, Han Xiao intended to visit the Empire's top A-level allies, for he would be dealing with them for many years to come, and it was timely to draw closer to them.

Simultaneously, he had prepared to meet all the renowned figures from the Empire in his memories.

After countless years of version updates, the Empire's mid-level powers would undergo a cycle of renewal and iteration. His days of cooperation with the Empire would stretch far into the future, so he needed to look further ahead. To prepare for the future, he needed to cultivate relationships with the influential figures of tomorrow, laying the groundwork for future influence.

Glancing at Fading and the others, Han Xiao turned his gaze toward the pilot's seat where Odella sat, giving a slight nod.

“Let's go.”

Upon hearing this, Odella flicked her fingers across the control screens, and the ship moved accordingly, slowly gliding into the portal.

At the same time, the hovercraft of Ember and Hara also arrived at the portal's edge near the Broken Ring.

Looking back toward the direction of the Broken Ring, Hara's mood was complex.

She had a premonition that she might not be able to return for a long time.

Super A-level…

At that moment, a slender hand rested gently on her shoulder. Hara looked up to see Ember smiling softly.

“Let's go.”

“Hmph… Got it.”

Hara set aside her thoughts, pushed the control lever, and the ship vanished into the portal's vortex.