This way, even if Han Xiao acted like he did not know it, Sorokin would only be more alarmed. Therefore, he might as well make it clear. According to what he knew about Sorokin, this guy definitely would not want to make things ugly but would instead try to compensate for it.
After all, even if Sorokin gave him compensation, it did not mean that he would stop targeting him.
Sorokin paused, sighed, and said, “Alright, got it. The motive behind what I did was just to maintain balance; it’s not personal. Nonetheless, I owe you for this incident. Since we’re now partners, I’ll give you an appropriate answer.”
Han Xiao carefully observed his expression and narrowed his eyes.
As he expected, given how thick-skinned Sorokin was, him panicking after being exposed was not likely. He would have instead confessed and apologized on the spot, then looked for compensation measures.
Furthermore, Sorokin was very cheeky and actually prepared for this—he deliberately told Traveler about ‘how he really felt’ and gave his actions the excuse of maintaining unity and disrupting the Beyond Grade A shared battlefront. This way, it would not seem personal.
With this mindset as the reason, even if he was exposed, he would not be targeted too much. This was because the stand he had displayed on this matter was actually the same as the three Universal Civilizations’ stand.
The only difference was the methods he used. Even so, he had hardly offended the dynasty. After all, his method was just indirect disruption, not direct interference.
In the current complex universe structure, the three Universal Civilizations had conflicts of interest with the development union. As a member of the association that also had the same mindset as the three Universal Civilizations, Sorokin might become one of the people they might want to draw to their side.
Although having his stance exposed would lead to those Beyond Grade As who supported the shared battlefront such as Mechanic Emperor and Black Star distancing themselves from him, this also became an opportunity for him to get closer to the three Universal Civilizations. This way, his losses would be minimized.
Han Xiao could only praise Sorokin’s intelligence. Relying on his resources, this guy could always deal with the negative side effects very well.
The biggest problem was that he had worked with the Super Star Cluster Alliance on this, so the three Universal Civilizations would definitely not be happy about it. Sorokin had no way of washing that off, so he had to pay a price.
The second problem was Han Xiao’s attitude on this. Black Star was insulted, and no one could shake his position in the association now. Sorokin had no choice but to prepare for Han Xiao to make an outrageous demand.
Many thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s mind. He blinked and said coldly, “Let me hear how you’re planning to express your apology to me.”
Chapter 1092 - Opening
Chapter 1092 Opening
“I’ll give the Black Star Army more support. For all the services and resources you purchase from the Limitless Financial Group in the future, you will only be charged the cost. At the same time, I’ll bring in a lot of discounted business projects and partner up with the Germinal Financial Group under you, helping it grow. Also, I’m willing to invest and build factories in the Black Star Army’s territory without any cost or profit in mind. Through investing and helping your business to grow in various industries on your territory…”Sorokin mentioned a lot of things. In conclusion, other than monetary compensation, he was also going to use the Limitless Financial Group’s businesses and funds to help the Black Star Army grow and develop.
Han Xiao made some calculations in his head. If these terms were all to be carried out, despite how wealthy the Limitless Financial Group was, it would not be a small expenditure at all. To the army’s territories, the construction would be sped up tremendously.
This guy really seemed serious about fixing the relationship.
In the past, Sorokin used a similar method to help the Bloodshed Land grow. Now, the Bloodshed Land had mostly completed their business transformation and become a strong competitor of the army in the Shattered Star Ring. Sorokin was now offering the same treatment to the Black Star Army, with even better terms.
As for the support he had been providing to Heber, even though Black Star did not mention it, Sorokin was going to stop it for the time being.
“Hmm…” Han Xiao neither agreed nor disagreed. He then brought up a new term. “Although the construction in the Flickering World territories is important, the army has a larger goal. I’m planning to develop the army in the other Star Fields too. Your Limitless Financial Group has influence and businesses in various Star Fields too. I suppose you can share some of that too.”
“…Okay.” Sorokin was smiling on the surface but actually clenching his teeth in his mind.
He knew that this request meant that Black Star was not satisfied with just resources but had his eyes on the Limitless Financial Group’s channels and connections across the Star Fields. Black Star wanted to suck the Limitless Financial Group’s blood and take its businesses to nurture the army’s businesses in the other Star Fields. It was quite an outrageous demand.
Although Sorokin was mentally prepared for it, he was still quite hurt.
One reason he was willing to give so much compensation was to fix his relationship with Black Star. It was worth investing in him despite the fact that the chance of Black Star no longer targeting him was only fifty percent. Another reason was to display his stance to the dynasty.
Although the Black Star Army might become a parasite to the Limitless Financial Group, leeching on its meat to grow, the most urgent matter now was to deal with the dynasty. Suffering from losses was inevitable, or Sorokin would not have compromised like this. The Black Star Army was strong indeed, but he was not afraid of Han Xiao in the field of business. It was the dynasty behind Han Xiao that concerned him.
After getting by this incident, the profit he lost could be slowly earned back in the future, and the agreements made now could be ignored in various ways too. Therefore, Sorokin decided to agree with it for the time being.
“Also, I like Universal Treasures. Be it complete products or blueprints, I like to collect them all. The Limitless Financial Group should have some ways to get them—share them with me,” Han Xiao said.
“I’ll do my best to collect them after I get back.” Sorokin agreed without hesitation. He was already agreeing to pay a lot of debts; agreeing to more did not really make a difference.
“That’s it then. Carry out these terms as soon as possible.” Han Xiao waved his hand. “I have some things to attend to later, so let’s end our chat here today.”
“Okay, I won’t disturb you any longer.”
Sorokin stood up, nodded slightly, and hung up the communication. His remote projection disappeared.
Han Xiao leaned back and pondered.
“Traveler is dead loyal to the Star Arc Civilization, and only I know about it for now. I wonder if the dynasty can get that from him in the interrogation. No matter what, as of now, Traveler is firm about Sorokin being the one behind it on the dynasty’s side. The dynasty will definitely send someone to question Sorokin’s motive.
“At that time, Sorokin will surely blame it on the Super Star Cluster Alliance. I told him Modo is the true mastermind, so he will most likely say the same to the dynasty. If the dynasty continues to ask, he’ll probably say I told him. The dynasty knows that I have beef with Modo, so they’ll know my motive. Although they clearly know this is a lie and framing, they might be happy to go along with it. In the future, they might use this as an excuse to cause trouble for the Modo Civilization and other Super Star Cluster civilizations.
“As for Sorokin, he might not believe what I said, but even if he doesn’t believe Traveler belongs to the Modo Civilization, he’ll definitely investigate it…”
Han Xiao shook his head and smiled.
This way, the one who suffered the most damage from t
his entire incident would be the Modo Civilization. It basically all fell onto their head out of nowhere.
In the three Universal Civilizations’ future operations to deal with the Super Star Cluster Alliance, the Modo Civilization would probably receive the most ‘love’.
“This way, the second requirement of that Grade S mission [Kunde Race Leader’s Last Wish] should be about complete…”
Han Xiao’s eyes slightly sparkled, and he rubbed his hands.
He had been tempted by the reward of this mission for a very long time. [Proof of Leadership], [The Enemy], and [Kunde Rage], a total of three excellent abilities. Currently, the Modo Civilization was protected by the Super Star Cluster Alliance and was keeping a low profile, so he could not target them directly. The only thing he could do was wait for the certain conflict in the future.
…
News about the Black Star Cup quickly spread. The entire army showed an extremely high passion for it; countless members registered.
Most people joined for entertainment purposes, but a few ambitious army warriors saw this as an opportunity to display their strength.
The Black Star Cup had also received a lot of attention among the army players. The forums were filled with posts about it once again.
Heaven Is Below Me: “What’s going on? Wasn’t Black Star just going to enter the show business not long ago, and now the army is going to enter the sports industry?”
Itchy Head: “That’s how large factions are.”
Never Starve Even Dead: “This feels more interesting than the Pro League.”
Tiny And Weak: “The scale of this tournament is the biggest I’ve ever seen. It has a lot of events and a lot of participants. All participants are allowed to even join as many as five events. How many competitions are there going to be? There are card games and even bets too‽”
Two White Rabbits: “Not just card games, there are even singing and dancing contests. I even saw people request stand-up comedy competitions, and it was even approved!”
Dragon Emperor Licker: “Honestly, I want to see Black Star dance…”
Sky High Professional Account Boosting Studio: “The rewards for these competitions are quite rich, and the items with the greatest rewards are still related to combat. The top 300,000 will all be rewarded, and our weapons are not even limited. This means that if we participate in group battles, use our explosion backpacks and evolution badges, and utilize similar dirty tactics, will we take all of the top positions?”
Feidin Supporters Group President: “Let me take a look. Whose wallets are getting thick again? (Black Star’s Smile.jpg)”
Cow Lover: “Army Commander, this is my protection fee for this year.”
While the Black Star Cup was still in preparation, countless players were already getting their wallets ready.
For the days that followed, the sales of the logistics department skyrocketed. The EXP Han Xiao received every day increased by a huge portion too. Tons of players spent more than half of the resources they had been accumulating since the start of the Flickering World version on studying and leveling up abilities.
Seeing the EXP growth every day, Han Xiao felt very good.
If I don’t take the players’ hard-earn money, am I still human?
At this rate, level 340 was not going to be far away. However, to obtain one more God’s Trait Transformation Point during Promotion, he decided to use the EXP he earned to level up some blueprint abilities and all his class knowledges to the max level.
Sylvia and Phillip were very efficient. With the Black Star Army’s current position, all the administrative procedures were approved smoothly without any hiccups.
Han Xiao selected many desolate planets as the event venues. The professional galactic construction teams called over by the Limitless Financial Group quickly built up the facilities needed, while the army members participating in the Black Star Cup arrived one after another.
The schedule was similar to the Pro League. Due to the extremely large number of participants, a group of people would first be eliminated in the qualifiers, then it would move on to the actual event.
After preheating it for more than two months, the preparations for the first season Black Star Cup were finally complete.
On October 28th, Year 730 of the Galaxy Calendar, the Black Star Cup opening ceremony was held as scheduled. With help from the media groups, the eyes of the entire universe were focused on this giant festival.
Chapter 1093 - Tide from Afar
1093 Tide from Afar
Countless spaceships surrounded a sapphire planet. Colorful lights penetrated the artificial atmosphere and made the sky of this planet as beautiful as the northern lights.This was one of the desolate planets in the army’s territory, it was rebuilt into one of the venues for the Black Star Cup. Countless facilities such as stages, rings, large stadiums, and low altitude racing tracks were built on the surface, visible to the naked eye even from outside the atmosphere. Other than the buildings on the surface, there were also floating stages in the air. Some were VIP seats exclusive to the army members above Grade C, and others were more rings. As there were many items and participants, as many competition venues were needed as possible to increase the efficiency of the qualifiers.
At this time, the sights of all the media groups and army spaceships were locked onto the biggest floating stage. On it was a lectern.
Today was the opening ceremony. As the leader of the army, the founder of the Black Star Cup, Han Xiao was going to speak to the entire universe here.
Countless galactic residents of the explored universe watched their communicators as time passed by. Finally, the time for the official start of the opening ceremony had arrived.
Hu!
Watched by countless people, a black silhouette descended like a meteor from space, gradually decelerating and accurately landing on the edge of the stage. With a light spin, the dancing black and gold coat spun like a black tornado, getting rid of the flames from when he penetrated the atmosphere.
Han Xiao slowly walked to the speaking desk and looked up at the sky. The spotlights from countless spaceships above were like distant stars. Countless eyes were watching him through the live broadcast.
With his hands placed on the sides of the lectern, Han Xiao looked around at the starlight in the sky and slowly spoke. Through the specially made speaker, his voice echoed across the planet.
“October 2nd, Year 688 of the Galaxy Calendar, that was the day the army’s former identity—the Black Star Mercenary Group—was founded. Back then, I was only a surface civilization native who had just stepped off Planet Aquamarine. To save my mother planet, like a newborn animal, I headed into the wide universe, ignorant and weak. To me, this was a world filled with unknown danger. However, for the survival of my mother planet, and the safety of my friends who stayed there, without any hesitation, I…”
The speech was played out live in the various Star Fields. To the Planet Aquamarine people who were watching the broadcast, this old memory started floating to the surface. A sense of pride appeared in their heart.
No matter what Black Star’s position was in the universe, in the eyes of the Planet Aquamarine people, he had only one identity—the greatest man of their planet, the pioneer of Planet Aquamarine who first stepped into the universe. That was a small step for Black Star but a big step for Planet Aquamarine.
Inside the national headquarters of the Aquamarine Federation, Bennett pushed back a political meeting and watched the broadcast.
His hair had already turned white, but it was still combed neatly. He had more wrinkles on his face too. He had become an old man. Having possessed the top power of the planet for many years, he had already developed the vibe of a man with power.
However, at this time, Bennett’s lips were slightly raised, making more wrinkles on his face, and the corners of his eyes were glistening.
Decades ago, when he first met Han Xiao, that lonely man in his memories seemed to overla
p with the tall and strong Black Star now.
Thousands of words rushed up to his mind, but all turned into a satisfied sigh.
I’m glad to have met you…
The speech was still going. Han Xiao’s tone gradually became more emotional.
“When I was weak, I met dangers, and I met great men. On the way, I found both enemies and friends. The experiences I had at that time are still vivid in my mind, but when I think about them now, it almost feels like it was an entire lifetime ago.
“I worked hard and spent more than forty years developing the Black Star Army to what it is today. I think I have the right to be proud of it…”
Many army members nodded with admiration.
Almost all army members had taken thought-alignment classes; they knew about the rise of the army. Even those who joined the army for their own future admired the achievements Black Star had made in just over forty years.
Looking at the entire history of the Galaxy, how many people were able to start with nothing and build such an enormous force in such a short time? There was no one else!
Of course, there were people who had achieved more than Black Star, but they also spent a longer time. Black Star, and only Black Star, had risen in the Galaxy at a speed no one in the past could ever compare with.
In the exploration frontline stronghold at the free competition zone, Hila watched Han Xiao from the screen. The adventures they had together in the past flashed through her mind, and her gaze softened.
Manison, Kasuyi, Sorokin, and other Beyond Grade As were also watching the broadcast. Even the Dynasty Ruler Urranrell squeezed out some time in her extremely busy schedule to watch it. Hearing Han Xiao’s words, these people uncontrollably sighed.
Maybe Black Star had conflicts with them, but from the bottom of their heart, they still admired what Black Star had achieved. None of them felt they could have done better than Black Star if they were in his position.
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