The streets were bustling with people and vehicles.
The commercial district surrounding the Administrative Building at the city center was exceptionally prosperous. Among the towering bionic buildings, hundreds or even thousands of meters high, streams of people flowed endlessly.
Every service industry in the entire Kono Star Region could be found here, and each building housed more than just one shop. The local population of City One was less than 100 million, but the number of outsiders had reached a staggering two billion.
Crowds of people—here for work, tourism, or shopping—came from various star systems across the Kono Star Region to spend here, creating the thriving market of the Administrative Star.
Following the guidance of administrative staff, Liu Hai and his group arrived at the canopy area above the clouds. On a branching tree with a diameter of over a hundred meters stood a classical wooden structure, plain and unadorned, resembling a small cabin built by ordinary civilians. The thatched roof swayed in the wind, and the paper cranes hanging at the door occasionally tangled together before naturally separating again.
"Is this the Hall of Council of the Parliament?" Liu Hai asked the administrative staff beside him in disbelief.
"Yes, this is the Hall of Council. Of course, it's only a spatial projection of the real Hall of Council," the staff member replied, gazing at the utterly ordinary cabin with a reverent expression.
"Mr. Liu, only you can enter here. We'll wait outside for you," the staff member said after a moment, gesturing for Liu Hai to proceed alone.
Liu Hai looked at the small cabin. The thatched roof seemed on the verge of flying away under the strong wind. Steadying himself, he stepped toward the parliamentary hall, which had no visual records on the StarNet, and gently pushed open the weathered wooden door before stepping inside.
Darkness, solitude, depth—and an infinite allure drew Liu Hai forward into the depths of the darkness.
He walked through this profound darkness. Logically, he should have long passed beyond the cabin's confines, yet even after half an hour, he hadn't encountered anything.
Suddenly, a point of light emerged in the darkness, expanding rapidly like the Big Bang until it filled the entire space.
Nebulae gathered, billions of stars illuminated the cosmic void, countless civilizations rose and fell, wars and development continued until the universe returned to its dark, silent essence.
A faint glow appeared, revealing a round table before Liu Hai. Seated around it were five figures shrouded in gray mist.
"Liu Hai, who abruptly appeared on Garbage Star in the Kono Star Region, joined the citizen system of the Kono Administrative Star on January 14, 5022 of the Federal Calendar. He manufactured fighter mechs for sale to acquire warships and assembled a small fleet."
"Though your origins cannot be verified, your character has sparked much debate."
"Yet the essence of your soul remains human."
"Thus, we recognize you as a member of the Federation and look forward to your growth as one of us."
"Do you have any questions?"
The five figures spoke in turn, laying bare Liu Hai's background—every detail from the moment he appeared on Garbage Star, except for information about the Pyramid Core—displayed before him.
Fear was Liu Hai's initial reaction.
Curiosity followed.
"Since you know I appeared suddenly, aren't you afraid I might be a spy from an alien civilization?" After hearing the latter part of their conversation, Liu Hai became less frightened because he now understood that being scared was useless on their turf—how they chose to handle him was entirely their decision.
"Heh, the fact that you could walk here alive already proves your human essence," one of them replied softly.
"Are you all... councilors?" Liu Hai inquired again.
"Yes, we are all Lord Councilors. We also look forward to you joining our ranks. We want to know what someone carrying the Ancient Essence like you can bring us—hope or despair."
"Hope or despair? Why put it that way? And what is the Ancient Essence?" Liu Hai's questions multiplied, his usually modest curiosity now seemingly possessed by a cat, relentlessly craving more answers.
"Only by becoming a Lord can you obtain the answers to these questions. Lordship is the basic requirement for you to even remember the answers."
"Basic requirement? So if I don't become a Lord, I won't even be able to retain the answers?" Liu Hai grew even more astonished. What kind of situation was this? Rule overwriting or conceptual obfuscation? Wasn't the Federation just a fourth-tier civilization? How could it involve such things?
"Do you have any other questions now?"
Liu Hai shook his head. "No questions for now."
If you say I won't remember the answers anyway, what's the point of asking more? He wasn't entirely free of suspicion that they might be deceiving him, but it seemed implausible. Why would several Lord Councilors fabricate things for an ordinary Pioneer? To what end?
"Then now, we grant you the Pioneer Authority, StarNet Level 2 Authority, and Reserve Authority."
"From this moment, you are a true Federal Pioneer."
"Go forth—explore the boundless starfields, conquer alien territories, and build your own Interstellar Territory."
When Liu Hai opened his eyes, he found himself standing at the doorstep of the small wooden cabin. The creaking of the door behind him persisted, and the thatched roof continued to dance in the wind.
"Boss, did you get the authority?" Li Ping asked anxiously as she rushed forward upon seeing Liu Hai's sudden appearance.
"Yes, I did. I'll send you the relevant authority documents shortly. Make the necessary arrangements," Liu Hai replied, collecting himself.
A nearby administrative staff member smiled and invited Liu Hai to the military office to claim his military authority and personal belongings.
After Liu Hai obtained his authority, the legal and administrative handovers with Star Sea Group proceeded smoothly. Various regulations and materials related to pioneering were made available to Star Sea Group, and access permissions to numerous alien starfield StarNets were granted.
Even the internal sales channels of many arms companies appeared in the provided materials, with military data being the most abundant—especially concerning the Merit Exchange System.
The activation of this authority instantly elevated Liu Hai's vision and access channels. Equipment that was previously unavailable or required long waiting periods could now be delivered immediately with merit points. No merit points? No problem—occasional scattered Pioneers sold them, starting at 100 million credits per point. The only question was whether you could snag them in time.
Liu Hai went through the necessary handover procedures while having the Intelligent Nexus check the newly accessible network data under his updated permissions. Occasionally, he glimpsed confidential information that was previously restricted to standard clearance levels—data strictly blocked by the StarNet.
Especially concerning extraterrestrial domains, including star maps of surveyed regions, were now freely available for viewing. The related star charts were continuously updated, and the sheer number of regional channels and team networks overwhelmed Liu Hai to the point where he couldn't even describe it.
By noon, Liu Hai returned to his office, shooing away the persistent Igor before sinking into his chair alone to ponder the true meaning behind those councilors' words.