295: From this day forward, there will be only one voice in the Milky Way!

With Viren's words of terror and submission, "Burn through it completely," the entire reception hall, constructed of transparent photonic crystals, fell into a deathly silence.

Those high-level civilization leaders, who once acted with impunity and controlled the fate of countless star systems, remained kneeling. They dared not even look up at the young human sitting in the high position, as if a single glance would be enough to crush their souls under that intangible pressure.

Lu Chen gently set down his teacup. The porcelain cup collided with the crystal tabletop with a crisp "ding."

This sound was not loud, yet it struck like a heavy hammer against the heart of every alien leader, causing them to shudder.

"Since you have all figured it out, that makes things easier."

Lu Chen stood up slowly, his black trench coat swaying slightly in the energy turbulence. He walked in front of Viren and looked down at this ancient life form made of starlight.

"Viren, you just said you are willing to squeeze out all your war potential?"

"Y-yes, Your Excellency." Viren's voice was humble to the extreme. "For the sake of survival, we are willing to pay any price."

"Very good."

A cold arc appeared at the corner of Lu Chen's mouth.

"But determination alone is not enough. What I need is efficiency and absolute obedience."

"That alliance parliamentary system, where it takes hundreds of years just to hold a meeting, is too slow and too stupid. In the face of the approaching 'the cleaners,' democracy is suicide."

He turned around abruptly, his gaze piercing through the dome of the fortress and casting itself toward the vast, boundless Milky Way Galaxy.

"heavenly craft."

[I am here, Master.]

The figure of heavenly craft appeared in the center of the hall. She was no longer the simple housekeeper image, but a digital goddess radiating golden divinity. She held a huge holographic projection in her hands—it was a real-time star map of the entire Milky Way Galaxy.

"Issue the first order to the entire Milky Way Galaxy."

Lu Chen's voice was calm, yet it carried an unquestionable, iron-blooded will.

"Effective immediately, the 'Galaxy Guardians' alliance is officially dissolved."

"All member civilizations are automatically incorporated into the Earth Federation's subsidiary civilization sequence. The original administrative systems will be retained, but they must accept the supreme supervision of the 'heavenly craft' system."

"All fleets of Level 3 civilizations and above must immediately relinquish independent command and be unified into the 'expedition' legion to accept the deployment of the 'War Wolf' commander-in-chief."

"This..."

Several civilization leaders kneeling on the ground suddenly raised their heads, a flash of horror and hesitation in their eyes.

Relinquish independent command?

This was equivalent to handing over their entire livelihood and fate into the hands of the Earthlings! This was no longer vassalage; this was complete annexation!

"What? Do you have any objections?"

Lu Chen did not turn back, just asked indifferently.

This single sentence made those leaders who had just wanted to speak instantly shut their mouths. They felt that terrifying murderous intent, coming from Higher Dimensions and capable of erasing all existence, hanging over their heads.

"N-no objections!"

Viren shouted immediately, its starlight body trembling violently. "This is for survival! For the future of the Milky Way Galaxy! We... absolutely obey!"

"Very good."

Lu Chen nodded with satisfaction.

"Then let us begin."

"Let the entire Milky Way Galaxy know that the times have changed."

Half an hour later.

A quantum broadcast signal containing the highest authority swept across every corner of the Milky Way Galaxy with superluminal efficiency. Whether it was a bustling interstellar metropolis or a remote mining planet, all screens and all communication terminals lit up at this moment.

There was no warning, and no preamble.

Appearing on the screen was only the back of a young human.

He stood in front of the Galactic Center black hole, which once symbolized death and taboo, with his back to the masses, as if confronting the entire universe.

"I am Lu Chen."

The young man's voice was not loud, but through neural interface technology, it resonated directly in the depths of every intelligent being's mind.

"Some civilizations know me, some do not. But that does not matter."

"What matters is that from this second on, you need to remember this name."

The image slowly rotated. Lu Chen turned around, his heterochromatic eyes—one gold and one white—seeming to gaze through the screen at every living creature in the Milky Way Galaxy.

"Just a moment ago, the 'Star Devourer' that had entrenched itself in the Galactic Center for billions of years and swallowed countless civilizations has been erased by me."

"And in four hundred years, a more powerful enemy—'the cleaners'—will arrive."

"This is a war concerning the life and death of everyone; there is no neutrality, no escaping."

Lu Chen stretched out a finger and pointed at the void beneath his feet.

"To cope with this crisis, the old order must be broken."

"Those parliamentary debates that squabble over petty profits, those wars that kill each other for resources, are all prohibited from today on."

"I announce that the Earth Federation officially takes over the supreme defense and administrative power of the Milky Way Galaxy."

"All resources, all technology, and all populations must serve the same goal—that is to survive!"

Speaking of this, Lu Chen's eyes suddenly became sharp as knives.

"I know that many of you will not be convinced, and will think that I am a tyrant, a dictator."

"That is fine, you can resist."

"But I want to remind you of one thing."

Lu Chen snapped his fingers lightly.

The screen switched instantly.

It was a replay of the previous 'Dimensionality Reduction Strike.' That two-dimensional painting that spanned several light-years and buried billions of Star Devourers was presented to the entire Milky Way Galaxy once again. Cruel, breathtakingly beautiful, and suffocating.

"In the face of absolute power, any opposition is nothing but a scrap of paper."

"I have the ability to protect you, and naturally, I also have the ability... to erase you."

"So, put away your ridiculous little thoughts and use your intelligence where it should be used."

The screen cut back to Lu Chen's face. His expression became calm again, but that aura of ruling the world had already been deeply imprinted in the hearts of every viewer.

"I do not want to say this a second time."

"From today on, the Milky Way Galaxy..."

"Has only one voice."

"And that is—the voice of Earth!"

The broadcast ended.

The entire Milky Way Galaxy fell into a long, deathly silence.

There were no protests, no parades, not even any insults on the network.

Because everyone was stunned by that absolute power and hegemony. When an existence that can casually crush a black hole and treat high-level civilizations like a drawing stands in front of you, what else can you do but submit?

Fear? Of course there was fear.

But beneath this fear, an emotion called "hope" was quietly sprouting.

In this dark forest, weakness is the original sin. And now, they finally had a "tyrant" strong enough to protect everyone.

For those low-level civilizations struggling at the bottom, this perhaps... was not a bad thing.

"He did it..."

Earth, Jinghai City.

Wang Peng stood on the top floor of the Future Technology Group building, looking at the crowd outside the window who were cheering fanatically because of this announcement, his eyes moistening unconsciously.

He remembered the young man who was eating instant noodles in a rented room a few years ago, the brother who said he would take him to the starry sea.

At that time, he thought it was just the young man's wild talk.

But now, that young man really stood at the top of the Milky Way Galaxy, stepping on all those aliens that he could once only see in sci-fi movies!

"Chen Zi... you really are a monster."

Wang Peng wiped away his tears, then grinned and picked up the phone on the table.

"Pass my order! All subsidiaries must immediately launch the 'Interstellar Expansion' plan!"

"Since the boss has cleared the field for us, let us not be polite!"

"I want the game servers of 'oasis' to be set up on the home planet of every alien civilization!"

"I want the entire Milky Way Galaxy to use our 'Golden Crow' batteries!"

"This is... the ultimate form of a business empire!"

And on the distant "expedition."

Lu Chen ended the broadcast and rubbed his eyebrows with some fatigue.

Playing the role of a "dictator" was actually not easy. But he had to do it because time waited for no one; he had to use the fastest and most violent means to twist the power of the entire Milky Way Galaxy into a single rope.

"Is everything arranged?" Lu Chen asked heavenly craft beside him.

[Yes, Master.]

heavenly craft's voice carried a hint of admiration.

[The resource transport fleets of the major civilizations have set off, and the first batch of 'survival tax' will arrive in a month. At the same time, our engineering robots have taken over the defense facilities of all key star regions.]

[The Milky Way Galaxy now is your private property.]

"Private property..."

Lu Chen shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"This is not a good asset; this is a mess waiting for me to put out fires."

He stood up, walked to Su Qingying, and looked into her eyes, which were still full of love.

"Qingying, the situation here is basically stable."

"Next, I am going to do something more important."

"What is it?" Su Qingying asked softly.

Lu Chen's gaze passed over her and looked at the mysterious space hidden in the cracks of dimensions.

"I am going to see the ruins of the civilizations destroyed by 'the cleaners'."

"In the memory left to me by that old guy (genesis engine), there are some very interesting things."

A flash of light crossed Lu Chen's eyes.

"To defeat a Fourth-level civilization, relying on what we have now is not enough."

"I need to find some... real 'contraband'."

"For example..."

"Time weapons!"