Some say the more you know, the more worries you have.
In the past, as a carefree single man who only needed to feed himself, Liu Hai couldn't comprehend this mindset at all.
But now, having become an Inheritor of a civilization, he suddenly understood.
The dazzling Milky Way Federation Civilization, the magnificent Cosmic Civilizations, the war-torn expansions into Outer Star Territories, the wondrous Cosmic Creatures—countless things he had never imagined now lay within his reach. He had even become part of it all, a member of the Interstellar Universe.
It was only at this point that Liu Hai began to reflect on whether he had imagined this interstellar world too simplistically, always believing that the technological inheritance of the Pyramid Core alone would allow him to dominate the Star Sea.
But now, more and more doubts swirled in his mind. He longed to return to his old life—eating when hungry, lying around without a care, with nothing to worry about or panic over.
When he ran out of money, he could just work in a factory for a few months tightening screws, and that would be enough to scrape by for a few more months.
But now, he was the Inheritor of an unknown civilization, a member of the Star River Federation, the master of the Star Sea Exploration Fleet, the boss of tens of thousands of crew members—he had responsibilities toward them.
Sigh!
"Let's talk about the Broli Civilization instead," Liu Hai said, his mood somber. He set aside the distant concerns for now and shifted the topic to the object suspected to be a fragment of a Space Creature's flesh from the Broli Civilization.
"That thing likely contains biological tissue from a Space Creature. Name your price—I'll sell half to you, or we can use it to offset part of the Life Planet's access rights."
Irina simply assumed Liu Hai had been shaken by the data about Space Creatures and didn't pay much attention to his state. After all, when she had first learned of this information from her family, she hadn't fared any better—her own mindset had collapsed for a long time before she recovered.
Hearing Liu Hai's proposal for a trade, Irina's eyes immediately lit up. Biological tissue from a Space Creature? This was something even the Federation had spent enormous resources trying—and failing—to obtain. Its value far exceeded that of a single Life Planet.
The only condition was ensuring the biological tissue still retained complete Biological Gene Data. If the Broli Civilization had already ruined it, its value would plummet into a black hole.
"I need to verify the condition of that biological tissue first. The transaction can only proceed if it has sufficient Biological Activity," Irina said, struggling to remain calm despite her urgency.
"Fine. The item is on the Broli Civilization's homeworld," Liu Hai replied, mentally issuing an order to the Clone Soldier squad to retrieve the relevant object.
After a brief agreement and military verification of the contract, the meeting concluded.
The purpose of the agreement was to ensure Liu Hai's rights wouldn't be infringed upon if Irina notified her family, potentially sparking unnecessary disputes. The specific details weren't reported—once submitted to the Federation, Liu Hai would lose all say. The Federation military would forcibly conscript him, and everything here would be taken over by the military until the matter was settled.
The entire Starsea Fleet set sail, with all warships returning to the fleet. Their Warp destination: the Brolly Star System.
Only Irina's fleet remained in place. To prevent any misunderstanding from Liu Hai, she even recalled the warships dispatched to explore the surrounding areas and immediately contacted her family to consult her grandfather about the details of this transaction.
Upon receiving the news, the Elizabeth family's first thought was to have Irina seize control of Liu Hai, obtain the goods, and return swiftly to the Federation.
However, after Irina presented their contract and revealed that Liu Hai had already led his fleet toward the Brolly Star System, the discussion shifted to deciding who should be sent to support Irina and how to negotiate the remaining half of the Space Creature tissue with Liu Hai.
No one mentioned Irina's failure to immediately subdue Liu Hai, nor was there any talk of holding her accountable later. The stakes were simply too high. Since absolute secrecy was impossible, the news was effectively public, and as far as the family was concerned, Irina had only contributed merits, not faults.
This was how families in the Federation operated—clear-headed judgment was key to maintaining power within the family structure. Arrogant fools never made it into the inner circle.
By the time Liu Hai set off for the Brolly Star System, the Elizabeth family's forces were already in full motion.
Every Pathfinder Fleet and Exploration Fleet under the family's command raced toward Irina's location at full speed. Meanwhile, the family internally mobilized researchers and prepared for scientific analysis.
Funds, personnel, resources—
A family that had endured for millennia in the Federation, once fully mobilized, wielded such overwhelming power that it left countless onlookers stunned into numbness.
Fortunately, the Federal Council issued a warning as soon as it detected the Elizabeth family's movements. The Elizabeth family, however, had no intention of hiding the matter from the Federation. Instead, they submitted the data transmitted by Irina directly to the Council.
After pledging unrestricted cooperation with the Federal Institute of Biological Research, the Federation granted the Elizabeth family full priority access, with all logistical support handled by the military. Even a Frontline Legion was discreetly dispatched to the vicinity of the Brolly Star System for protection.
All of this unfolded within the single day that Liu Hai was en route to the Brolly Star System. Yet, he remained entirely unaware of these strategic developments directly concerning him. Had he known that a Federation Frontline Legion was already moving to station itself within dozens of light-years around him for protection, his mental state might have shattered further.
The Federation's reasoning was simple: since the Elizabeth family already possessed a sample of the Space Creature tissue, whether Liu Hai had his portion was no longer critical. What truly concerned the military was the very fact that such tissue had been discovered in this Star Region. If one piece existed, could there be a second or third?
This was one of the main reasons the Federation Legion was dispatched to the Brolly Star System—to search for possible remnants of biological tissue and investigate the potential presence of a Starry Sky Behemoth.
However, the military movements were too conspicuous. The numerous Katun Civilization probes scattered throughout the Hera Star System easily detected the anomaly, allowing the Xue Jia to benefit from the situation.
The star region where Xue Jia was located had already been locked in fierce battles with the Katon Fleet due to the presence of a Life Planet. Now, to divert attention from the situation in Broli's star region, the Federation went all out to support Xue Jia. Lists of exchangeable warships were handed to Xue Jia's leaders, along with assurances that lack of funds or merits didn't matter—this time, they could owe the debt. There was only one demand: fight harder, preferably drawing the full attention of the Katun Civilization onto themselves.
Baffled, Xue Jia mistakenly believed the Federation had recognized their potential and the strategic importance of their star region, hence offering strong backing to contend with the Katun Civilization. Without hesitation, they swallowed this sweetened potion laced with bitter medicine.
Suddenly, the Third Spiral Arm became a hive of activity. Exploration Fleets from the Katun Civilization multiplied, while Xue Jia stood firmer than ever. Defend their towers?
No, no—they were ready to strike out!
Xue Jia declared it and prepared to act on it.