The Legendary Mechanic

One hour later, Han Xiao's remote projection entered the three Universal Civilizations' leaders' joint conference room, and he immediately saw three old men staring dead at him with grave faces.

"Yo, you're all here."

Han Xiao was not in a hurry at all and greeted them casually. This was the first time he had been called into a meeting like this since the two sides' relationship reached the freezing point.

"Black Star! What the hell do you know!"

Marbruce was in no mood to chitchat at all and cut to the chase.

An hour ago, when the three of them were waiting for the dynasty emissary to report Black Star's stand toward the three Universal Civilizations' proposal of peace to see if they could calm the association down, to their absolute dismay, what they received was the news that Black Star shockingly immediately called out the secret of the wormhole.

The three of them were all completely dumbfounded.

Where did Black Star find out about the fact that they had decrypted the secret of the wormhole? Who leaked the information? Was there a mole?

If not, how did Black Star find out? Did he know about the wormhole data's secret all along?

There were so many unanswered questions!

Marbruce, Louis, and the pope were anxious.

Since Black Star had specifically told the emissary to relay this message to them, it did not matter how he got such surprising information. The matter was of the utmost importance and had to be taken extremely seriously. The three of them held an emergency meeting where they decided to speak to Black Star, hence this meeting.

"I know lots of things."

Han Xiao looked around and deliberately gave them a meaningful expression while feeling relaxed inside.

He was also unsure what was going on, so he did not directly reveal the World Tree Civilization's name but instead pointed it out ambiguously.

Nonetheless, since he had been called to this meeting, Han Xiao knew he had won the bet and indeed guessed the truth. He was glad he did not make things worse.

"You mentioned the wormhole data left by EsGod. How much do you know about it?" Louis asked with a deep voice.

Han Xiao arranged his emotions, glanced at him, and said casually, "You guys discovered a civilization on the other side of the wormhole, right?"

The three of them exchanged looks with extremely serious expressions.

Marbruce frowned and asked, "Where did you get that information from?"

"I know what you guys want to ask me…" Han Xiao raised his brows. "No, I didn't steal your internal information."

Hearing this, their expressions became even more grave.

By saying that his source of information did not come from the three Universal Civilizations, Black Star was basically saying that he had uncovered the wormhole's secret long ago and had information about it the three of them did not possess.

Marbruce took a deep breath, put down his pride, and said solemnly with even a slightly respectful tone, "I'm sure you know the nature of this matter. We hope you can tell us the truth. This is absolutely crucial to the entire universe."

"Sure." Han Xiao nodded. Since this had happened, there was no point hiding what he knew. It was time to tell them the truth. He had to make sure that the three Universal Civilizations were aware of how dangerous the World Tree was.

"… This wormhole leads to the territory of a civilization called the World Tree Civilization. That's an extremely powerful civilization that loves war and expanding their territory. Decades ago, due to some reasons, EsGod sent a doppelganger to attack me, which led to his doppelganger falling into a wormhole and coincidentally discovering the World Tree Civilization. After that, EsGod sent his men to steal this wormhole data to figure out a way to pinpoint the World Tree Civilization's coordinates. Some things happened, and I became the only person who knows about this…"

Of course, Han Xiao hid the fact that some of this information came from his previous life and described the matter in another way, emphasizing how powerful the World Tree Civilization was. He basically shared almost everything he knew about the World Tree Civilization.

The three of them listened till the end with frowns on their faces, full of doubts.

Marbruce asked, "Did EsGod tell you all this? Putting aside why EsGod told only you about this, why do you know this much about the World Tree Civilization? This is far from what EsGod could've found out in one trip."

"I understand your doubts." Han Xiao nodded. This was not a matter to be taken lightly. If he made EsGod the reason for everything, all they had to do was question EsGod, and his lies would be discovered.

Without an incomparably solid source of information, there was no way the three Universal Civilizations were going to believe all this.

However, he had come up with a reason long ago that just so happened to explain why he knew so much about the World Tree Civilization.

"Actually… I have something left behind by a certain civilization that was wiped out by the World Tree Civilization. It contains a ton of information. What I know about the World Tree Civilization mostly comes from that."

As he said that, Han Xiao summoned the remote projection of SWY-001 and displayed the information he had prepared beforehand on the screen.

The expressions on their faces changed as they hastily browsed the information. The more they looked at it, the more shocked they became.

SWY-001's memory module recorded the tragic state of the Karma Republic when it was being invaded as well as the World Tree Civilization's unique and extremely strong way of war. Furthermore, it also showed that the World Tree Civilization was a Universal Civilization that was almost impossible to coexist with. Everything proved that what Han Xiao said was true.

Without this big treasure, even if Han Xiao could explain the source of this information, it would not be convincing enough.

Man did this thing come at a good time… Han Xiao thought in his mind.

There was nothing he could say but… Damn, Feidin!

The three of them spent some time reading all the information, and shock still lingered in their eyes.

"Devouring everything in their way, the World Tree Civilization is really the enemy of all intelligent civilizations. To think there's such a hunter like this in the universe…" Louis mumbled. "Luckily, we sealed EsGod long ago. If he'd led the World Tree Civilization here…"

Suddenly, before he finished his sentence, his expression froze.

At this moment, Marbruce recalled that sealing EsGod up was something Black Star strongly proposed and made happen. The fact that they were still not discovered by the World Tree now was all thanks to Black Star.

Back then, Black Star insisted on sealing EsGod up no matter what. Was he already secretly trying to protect the explored universe from being invaded‽

Marbruce's heart skipped a beat. He looked up at Han Xiao and could not help but ask, "Was this the reason you insisted on asking us to capture EsGod back then?"

Han Xiao tutted and asked back, "Why else would I? You really think I had so much hatred against him that I had to kill him?"

Marbruce's expression changed slightly. He looked at Han Xiao and could not help but feel a bit of admiration and appreciation toward him. The doubt in his heart instantly lessened.

If not for Black Star, this galactic society would have already been invaded. Technically speaking, the entire universe owed him a favor.

However, Black Star did not share this at all and silently hid this honorable achievement, letting it collect dust in history. No one knew about this colossal contribution he made.

How noble!

Han Xiao's image immediately got taller in Marbruce's heart.

Suddenly, the pope said, "Black Star, since you knew about the threat of the World Tree Civilization and had all this information long ago, why didn't you share it till now?"

Han Xiao shook his head.

"I know you guys all too well. If you guys had found out there is a powerful unknown civilization in the unexplored universe, would you guys ignore its existence? Sharing it with you would only lead to making contact even earlier. It was best to keep this a secret. In fact, if not because you guys had made results studying the wormhole data, I wouldn't have said all this even now."

The three of them had nothing to say.

Indeed, even if they did not know about it, if they found out the threat of the World Tree, the three of them were fully certain there was absolutely no way they were going to simply ignore it. They would definitely want to strike first and attempt to take the World Tree Civilization by surprise; never would they have acted the same way they were now.

Attempting to find out more about the World Tree would mean they would be at risk of being exposed too. Despite that, based on their positions, striking first was a certainty. Otherwise, they would simply be relying on fate and waiting to be attacked.

Being aware of such a powerful enemy existing in the unknown universe would make the three of them sleepless, worrying about one day being discovered and invaded every second. That would be no way of living, so of course, actively erasing this threat was more in line with the three Universal Civilizations' needs.

If both sides were unaware of each other's existence, they could still coexist like two parallel lines. However, once one discovered the other, the two sides would rapidly collided

"I have to admit that makes sense…" Louis sighed. "But isn't that betting on the enemies not discovering us first too?"

Han Xiao shook his head and did not reply.

He was confident in this because he knew exactly when the World Tree would be invading, only there was no need to explain that. Plus, it would neither be easy to explain nor be convincing enough.

At this time, the pope frowned and said, "But how can we be certain that the information from this object is true and not made up?"

"Are you doubting me?" Han Xiao glanced at him.

"I'm just being careful. It's not personal." The pope waved his hand.

Louis thought about it and added, "Indeed, the source of your information is very convincing, but its authenticity is still unclear… We're not doubting you, but we can't fully trust this information. Although it looks very real, who knows if this information was made up in the first place? We can't just assume…"

"Black Star, we'll carefully refer to this information you have provided, but we'll still have to see the results of our reconnaissance," Marbruce said.

Damn, you three are troublesome!

Han Xiao curled his lips but was not surprised.

It was normal for the three Universal Civilizations to be careful from their perspective. After all, there was indeed the possibility of this information being made up, just like what happened to the Kunde Race. Who knew if this information might be 'bait' too?

Han Xiao caressed his chin and slowly said, "This civilization relic still has vital signs. It's only asleep. If we wake it up, we should be able to get more information."

He had a mission on him to awaken SWY-001, but he did not complete it all this time because he did not want to deal with the possible trouble. However, now that he was sure that the three Universal Civilizations had made contact with the World Tree in advance, he no longer minded waking up SWY-001. Instead, it might even be helpful to do it.

"Alright, I'll leave it to you then. This is very important… By the way, you'll help us, right?"

Marbruce nodded. He suddenly paused and realized that the association and them were still on opposite sides.

The other two realized this too and looked a little uncomfortable.

The situation had changed, and they needed the association now. However, not long ago, they were attempting to wipe the association out, yet now they were asking for their help. The three of them felt awkward and even slightly embarrassed.

However, the three of them only felt awkward for a few seconds before quickly adjusting their mood, looking at Han Xiao with passionate eyes.

Han Xiao glanced at the three of them and smiled.

"The World Tree Civilization can't coexist with us. We're all on the same boat here, so working together is the only choice."

"… It's great you can understand that."

The three of them felt relieved. They needed to unite all forces at this point, and they were really afraid the association might do something irrational.

Seeing that Black Star easily looked past their conflict, the three of them could not help but think back to their conflict with the association in the past years. They felt complicated.

Black Star had always been trying to reach a balance and peaceful coexistence; never did he trigger any conflict.

In the past, the three of them thought the association was delaying the time to accumulate more strength. However, in hindsight, the three of them shockingly realized there seemed to be another explanation to Black Star's actions… Was he trying to save the explored universe's forces?

Due to many reasons, the three of them kept oppressing and targeting the association, and Black Star had been trying to maintain a fragile balance. While the three of them were busy dealing with internal problems, Black Star was very likely making preparations against the external enemy, the World Tree Civilization.

Unfortunately, the leakage of the Virtual Mutiny Virus had led them to make up their minds on starting a full-blown war…

"We almost walked down a path with no return!"

Appalled, their backs were covered in cold sweat. They were glad.

Luckily, they stepped back at the last minute. If they had started a war, Black Star's efforts to maintain the explored universe's forces would have been wasted.

Having thought of this, the three of them looked at Han Xiao again with very complicated emotions in their eyes. There was shame and regret, as well as appreciation and admiration.

We misunderstood him…

Knowing Black Star's real motive, it was as if this was the first time they had met him.

Black Star's image became alive in their minds. It was as if the three of them saw the back of a man walking alone in the world, carrying heavy responsibilities no one knew about, attempting to defuse conflicts, yet no one understood his true motives…

Black Star… your contributions to this universe have been more than noble.

This thought flashed past Marbruce's mind, along with the same thought Urranrell once had.

If only Black Star was a direct member of the dynasty…

The problems they had with Black Star evaporated. At this point, the three of them knew that continuing their internal conflict was idiotic. They knew that Black Star had already displayed his compassion; it was time they showed theirs.

The three of them looked at each other and understood what one another meant. They slowly nodded.

Marbruce coughed, looked at Han Xiao seriously, and said with a solemn tone, "Black Star, on behalf of the three Universal Civilizations, I officially invite you to be the Special Safety Consultant again. What do you say?"