I am the Emperor of Humanity across the Multiverse

From nearly 10,000 kilometers above Fertile Star, everything appeared peaceful.

However, at the same altitude, the orbiting space stations were far from tranquil. All transport ships had been forced to dock due to the sudden appearance of armed gunships, unable to move freely, let alone initiate slipspace jumps.

Additionally, all six space stations had been boarded and taken over by armed assault craft carrying combat personnel.

As the orbital elevators rapidly descended through the atmosphere, arriving above Odegaard, the capital city, countless airborne vehicles bearing the red and white "Λ" insignia could be seen. These vehicles descended between the streets, deploying nearly ten thousand fully armed soldiers, combat mechs, cloned troops, and towering biological war machines.

Due to the city-wide curfew, the Atlas forces easily took control of Odegaard and began patrolling the area.

Some of the light armored vehicles that had descended also broadcast messages aimed at calming the confused and terrified populace: 

"Everyone, do not panic. Do not be afraid. We are Atlas, and we stand with the people. 

Please stay in your homes and avoid going outside. Wait for further instructions."

However, faced with such a show of force, how could the citizens—who had already been hiding in their homes—possibly remain calm and unafraid? Fertile Star's population barely reached 300,000, with 60% living in Odegaard.

Yet there were over ten thousand armed Atlas soldiers now patrolling the streets.

At this moment.

Inside the suburban house that Leon had previously observed from afar:

The TV screen in the living room displayed static, showing no signal. No matter how many channels the man switched through, all he could hear was faint electrical noise.

"The internet's down," the man muttered in surprise, putting down the remote.

"Oh my God! Jeff, come quick!"

Hearing his wife's call, the man quickly walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. Following the direction of her pointing finger, he saw the Atlas patrol units outside.

What terrified his wife the most was the sight of a massive figure over four meters tall, wielding a small-caliber plasma cannon—an armored behemoth.

A robot?

The man instinctively thought it was a robot when he first saw the behemoth. 

But upon closer observation, he realized that its movement resembled that of a human far too much, not at all like a mechanical structure.

At that moment, the behemoth turned its head to look in their direction.

!!

Seeing this, the man hurriedly closed the curtains and pulled his wife down into a crouch.

Thump, thump!

They soon heard heavy footsteps, gradually getting closer. 

But the man's fear of the creature breaking through the window or door didn't materialize. The heavy footsteps passed by, growing distant until they eventually disappeared.

"Phew… dear God…" 

His wife collapsed to the floor, legs weak, her face filled with anxiety. "Jeff... what on earth is that giant thing? It's terrifying."

"I don't know."

The man peeked through a gap in the curtains, confirming that the patrol had moved far away. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and continue:

"The rebels don't have gear this advanced, and that thing's definitely not UNSC either. What baffles me more is where they came from. Not even ARP managed to issue a warning in time. 

Looks like those who boast about their 'smart AI' products need to reevaluate their technology."

While Atlas forces swiftly took control of Odegaard and its citizens were left confused and frightened, a Luna transport shuttle descended onto the lawn in front of the Governor's Mansion.

As the hatch opened, Samuel Young was the first to step out, dressed in a custom black suit. 

Following behind him were his three sons—Fulgrim, Leman, and Angron—each averaging only 1.3 meters in height.

The half-meter height difference between the father and his sons made the group look quite odd.

At this moment, Leon, who had been waiting nearby, approached them and walked alongside Samuel into the Governor's Mansion, reminding him:

"Boss, the AI core terminal is located on the third underground level."

"Understood."

Samuel nodded in response.

Then, the group entered an elevator that Samuel had to crouch slightly to fit into, and they headed down to the third underground level.

From February 18th to February 25th, in addition to Chris, Leon, Mike, and others, seven teams of investigators had been secretly transferred to Odegaard under orders from Ada.

During this time, the investigators made contact with the rebel forces under the guise of an arms deal.

However, instead of following the typical procedures, the investigators used their stealth-mode single-soldier equipment and enhanced physical abilities to easily capture the rebels who came to negotiate.

Using these captured rebels as a starting point, they managed to root out and eliminate all of Odegaard's rebel strongholds, secretly transferring the prisoners to a forward base located 100 kilometers away.

But the investigators' actions were not out of greed or to assist the UNSC in quelling the rebellion. Rather, it was a way to protect the lives of these rebels indirectly.

The investigation department needed to cut off Fertile Star's external communications, capture Governor Locke Surtay, and locate the AI terminal. Therefore, eliminating the rebels, an unpredictable element, was crucial. This would also influence Locke Surtay's judgment and decisions.

Additionally, through stealth tracking and reconnaissance, the investigators gathered all the necessary intelligence, including a critical piece of information: the communications relay station located in Odegaard's western district.

The distances between star systems are typically measured in light years. If traditional communication methods were used, it would take years for messages to travel between Zero-Eight Earth and its colonies.

Thus, the intelligence revealed that Zero-Eight humans had developed a faster-than-light Xiao-Tenchuan slipspace engine two centuries ago, which allowed ships to travel 2 to 3 light years in 24 hours.

This engine created a rift similar to a wormhole at the boundary between real space and slipspace, enabling ships to travel at superluminal speeds within slipspace.

Thanks to this invention, communication between colonies had also shifted to slipspace-based methods.

However, communication delays still increased with distance in real space. For example, messages between Fertile Star and Earth had a delay of over ten days.

Once the investigators had gathered enough intelligence, they split into multiple teams and nearly simultaneously achieved their set objectives.

At the same time, the forward base dispatched an assault force, led by the Ernio, to forcibly seal off the orbital space stations and any transport ships equipped with slipspace engines, preventing any information from leaking to the outside world.

Samuel had come to the Governor's Mansion intending to use his memories from playing Halo in his previous life, along with his [Reset] ability, to negotiate with the AI known as ARP.

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