The Legendary Mechanic

After the three Universal Civilizations completed the operation, they notified the various organizations in the Ancient Star Desert to reopen their quantum networks. The quantum network was only disconnected for half a day, yet it brought about huge economic losses to the entire Star Field. The various organizations were all wondering what the three Universal Civilizations had done during the period when their quantum network was disconnected.

Through intelligence gathered from all walks of life, they quickly found out that a group of Beyond Grade As had gathered for an operation, and they all were dumbfounded.

The Super Star Cluster Civilizations were all suffering from PTSD from the three Universal Civilizations, and thus, they were always on the lookout about this turmoil. Upon learning of this matter, the upper echelons held another meeting.

"It turns out that the Virtual Mutiny Virus had such a mechanism. If it was leaked out, it's unknown how many people would have been killed or injured… It's a pity that we were kept in the dark, and the core has now been destroyed by Black Star."

Many of the upper echelons displayed fear and regret.

They were afraid of the threat of the Virtual Mutiny Virus itself. They thought that the three Universal Civilizations had controlled the situation, but they did not expect it to be just an illusion. If they did not manage to find the virus core, then disaster would have swept across the entire universe.

What they regretted was that they did not know the goals of the three Universal Civilizations in advance, and in order to cooperate, they developed a wait-and-see attitude, finally resulting in the virus core being handled by the three Universal Civilizations. The Virtual Mutiny Virus thus became a disappearing voice.

Because the ship had already sailed, the three Universal Civilizations no longer concealed the information, so the Super Star Cluster Alliance discovered this matter.

One of the executives sighed in relief. "Luckily, Black Star destroyed the virus core. If we'd let the three Universal Civilizations obtain such weaponized information technology, then our situation would have been much worse."

"You're wrong. Black Star destroying the virus core does us more harm than good. Even if the technology was obtained by the three Universal Civilizations, they would only use it in order to maintain order. But for us, this sort of technology would be enough to allow us to threaten them, and it would allow us to shorten the gap between us and them. Now that this technology has disappeared, we have lost this opportunity forever," someone retorted.

"It would have been good if the Mechanic Emperor had succeeded…"

Many of them sighed.

They had hoped that Manison would succeed, as there was a high chance the Mechanic Emperor would ally with their Super Star Cluster Alliance in order to maintain his competitive advantage in hoarding profitable goods. In this manner, they would also have had an opportunity to find ways to obtain the virus technology through him.

However, this hope of turning the tables was now destroyed by Black Star, and they could not help but greatly regret it.

"Black Star, this fellow, really…" One of the superiors paused, not knowing how to describe Han Xiao, before finally speaking dejectedly. "He's too wasteful."

Glancing at the other upper echelons with varied expressions, the Star Arc Civilization's leaders solemnly said, "The results cannot be changed. What we need to think about is how to deal with the current situation."

"In the Flickering World, the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance will definitely have a battle. What we lack now is preparation time. Originally, the Intelligent Plague would have taken up all the energy of the three Universal Civilizations. The longer they are held up, the better. But now that the disaster is about to disappear, the three Universal Civilizations will soon be free to deal with us."

"The virus core was discovered by Black Star, and it was also eliminated by him. Because of his actions, the time for the three Universal Civilizations to solve the Intelligent Plague was greatly reduced… Hey, it's Black Star again!"

Most of the upper echelons were very dissatisfied. The exposure of Traveler before was due to Black Star, and now he had once again disrupted their plans.

But while they were angry, they could not do anything. They hoped to be low-key at this point to avoid trouble, so why would they go and provoke Black Star?

The leader of the Star Arc Civilization looked through the intelligence and suddenly exclaimed, "Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor had a disagreement on the issue of dealing with the virus core. The two of them had a fight and officially turned against each other. What do you think about this?"

"The battle report shows that Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor reached a tie…" An intelligence department's chief frowned. "If Black Star arrived in his main body, it is still possible, but both sides were using avatars. Our artificial intelligence has constructed countless models and analyzed the results, showing that in the case of this battle, Black Star's win rate was as low as 0.0027%. He is not yet an opponent of the Mechanic Emperor. The tie was because the other Beyond Grade As forcibly interfered, which meant that they were instructed to do so. Thus, we can judge that the three Universal Civilizations hope to create an equivalent character to compete against the Mechanic Emperor."

The leader of the Star Arc Civilization narrowed his eyes. "This means that after this battle, Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor will part ways, and the Beyond Grade As will be divided into two factions. One faction will support Black Star, and the other, the Mechanic Emperor. There might be an opportunity in this…"

"You mean…"

"After operating his business for so many years, the Mechanic Emperor is already considered a semi-independent state, almost rid of the three Universal Civilizations control," the leader of the Star Arc Civilization said. "However, against the three Universal Civilizations, he will still require some external help, and that help… can be offered by us."

Everyone's eyes lit up, and they nodded.

Everyone would have a time when they sorely needed help. The Mechanic Emperor was such a powerful figure, so if the Super Star Cluster Alliance helped him right now when he was in a difficult position and not trusted by the three Universal Civilizations, they might have a chance to become his secret partner.

In this way, to a certain extent, they can prevent the Beyond Grade A union from reaching a new cooperative relationship with the three Universal Civilizations, and they would also add obstacles to Black Star, who often caused them trouble.

…

On a desolate planet in the Primeval Star River, there was a hidden base underground.

Electricity arced in the darkness, and a pair of eyes emitting sparks opened, reflecting a silhouette sitting on the ground. This figure stood up, his robe rustling in the silence of the room. The next moment, he turned on the light, revealing his appearance, which was the true body of Manison.

After the battle, he had released his Lord's Descent and had not been in contact with others for quite a while. During this time, he had been secretly operating his organizations in the various Star Fields, ready to deal with the suppression of the three Universal Civilizations.

Manison knew better than anyone what sort of measures the three Universal Civilizations would take against him.

"This day has arrived a lot sooner than I expected…"

Manison let out a sigh of relief before his tone turned a little unpleasant as he snarled.

"That kid, Black Star, spoiling my plan!"

If it were not for Black Star, releasing news about the virus core, he would not have had to take the risk to try and obtain it.

Manison had also found clues about the virus core and concealed his tracks without reporting it to the three Universal Civilizations, all so that he would have the opportunity to swallow the Virtual Mutiny Virus, secretly obtain this technology, and make a fortune.

In his opinion, Black Star also had this opportunity, with even more clues than he had, but in order to reduce the damage of the disaster, he sought out the three Universal Civilizations to share his intelligence!

If not for this, he would not have had to compete against the three Universal Civilizations in full view. If he had missed out on this opportunity, then he would never have obtained the chance to get the Virtual Mutiny Virus technology.

Everything was due to Black Star!

He had taken the risk, but Black Star had actually destroyed the virus core in the end, making everyone fight for nothing.

Manison could still recall the moment Han Xiao crushed the virus core, and this made his heart ache.

Since he dared run the risk of offending the three Universal Civilizations to rob the virus core, it was naturally because the item was worth it.

As a top-notch Virtual Mechanic, with an AI civilization under him, if he obtained the full Virtual Mutiny Virus dataset and improved on it, there would be a violent chemical reaction. Coupled with his own strength, it would be enough to create a new version of the universe!

Apart from this, as long as he placed the core in his own artificial intelligence incubation room, cultivating generations of viruses in advance and placing them out to penetrate the universe, he would be everywhere at once!

At that time, the Intelligent Plague would be a toddler compared to him!

Even if the three Universal Civilizations obtained the technology, there was still a chance. Manison could still hack in and steal the technology at the risk of being discovered.

But now, the opportunity for him to reach the apex had been ruined by Black Star. Manison could not help but want to deem Black Star as a 'criminal' on the spot.

Manison shook his head. With things as they were, there was no use dwelling on it. It was better to deal with the matters in the present.

After this matter, the relationship I have with the federation will become even more strained. The three Universal Civilizations will scheme to cut off my wings, but fortunately, I've managed to get rid of as many attachments as I could over the years. I've also obtained independent channels and cultivated a large number of hidden forces. Many of my businesses can easily be transferred into hidden ones…

Since a long time ago, Manison felt that there would come a day where he would turn independent, and thus prepared for a rainy day. He dared to take the risk today because he was not afraid of falling out with the three Universal Civilizations.

Moreover, given the current situation, neither side would be completely opposed to the other, since the three Universal Civilizations still had some restraining fear toward him.

Manison had calculated his risks before he acted, thus taking the opportunity to reveal a few of his cards. The tens of millions of Lord's Avatars that he revealed were enough to make the three Universal Civilizations hesitate in dealing with him, fearing the repercussions of their actions on the innocents. As long as they could not find his body, he could always appear once more.

The three Universal Civilizations will want to support Black Star to compete with me. I guess I'll lose my funding from the federation, and I'll now have to make new friends…

Manison narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.

…

After the virus core was eradicated, the disaster relief efficiency of the three Universal Civilizations was rapidly accelerated, and the anti-virus kit was re-promoted as part of the anti-virus plans.

Without the virus core, the first generation of the Virtual Mutiny Virus had no leader and lost all coordination. The three Universal Civilizations just had to scan and lock down each node before clearing them at the same time. They would then go online immediately with a dedicated firewall. The viruses in the Ancient Star Desert were solved quickly, and the damage done by the Intelligent Plague was quickly rectified.

It had been several months since the outbreak of the Intelligent Plague, and the Star Field had been blocked out of signal for the whole time, leading the universe to be concerned about the status quo of the Ancient Star Desert. As the news was blocked for a long time, more and more rumors started circulating in the universe, spreading faint panic.

Now that the disaster was under control, the three Universal Civilizations finally issued an announcement to the entire universe to reassure the citizens of Galaxy.

In the announcement, the three Universal Civilizations specifically shared the entire experience of hunting down the virus core.

As soon as the official news bulletin was released, it immediately attracted the attention of countless organizations within the explored universe.

Han Xiao's deeds were also propagated around the universe following the deliberate announcements by the three Universal Civilizations, causing a huge uproar!