Chương 878: Start of Information War and First Star Reaching Starships.

After the war, one of the first things Liu Shu asked the System to do was summarize the total Experience Points earned during the war. Even then, Liu Shu had not expected much because of what happened in the last war against Rhazor. During that time, her Experience Points earned through Level 199 and below kills became zero. Therefore, the millions she defeated in those levels gave her a grand total of 0 Experience Points. Instead, what counted for Liu Shu were Level 200+ kills.

[Tianlian Liu Shu has defeated a total of 1, 166 <Second Ascension> individuals. The total Experience Points earned are 35, 473, 360.] Liu Shu looked at that number and blinked.

"... Only 35 million?" This tiny number came as a shock to her. She had expected a few hundred million, not a pitiful 35 million. That was barely half a Level! A sigh escaped her as complicated feelings pooled in her heart.

"The Experience Formula doesn't just take Level into account, but also Tier difference… Since I am now a Level 250 SS- Tier World Tree, even someone who might've given me 100, 000 in the past gives me only 60, 000 now…" If you then added her inability to earn Experience Points from <First Ascension> powerhouses, the current result was expected.

'To begin with, this war's objective was not to strengthen myself, but my people. So, I am not that upset. Still, I wanted a slightly bigger reward for defending such a difficult war situation.' Speaking of rewards, Liu Shu realized just how difficult new <Titles> were to come about. When she was Level 10, <Titles> came about as easily as breathing. Yet now, even an achievement at her level didn't seem to be enough to trigger anything. [The System is still calculating.] That message flashed within her sight, causing her core to beat once in happiness.

"Oh? There is a chance to get one?" [The system is still calculating.]"I see… Hehe." Just the fact that the System spoke first was enough confirmation.

"I wonder what I will gain? Not only me, of course. My wives and my soldiers have fought difficult battles; they also deserve something… right?" She blinked prettily while looking at the System… only to be met by silence.

"Tsk." Leaving the system alone, Liu Shu started the first and most important task. Spreading the word of her defense and also her intent to continue expanding. She couldn't act like a saint-like existence since she was going to spread outward from now on. What she needed was to clarify that her conquest methods were not invasive. For that, the people Liu Shu sent preventively out of the Solar System to spread out were necessary.

"Virelya, are you busy?" The intelligence master who came with the rest of the merchants answered right away.

"Not busy. What do you need, Lady Heavenly Willow?" Liu Shu and Virelya had some disagreements in the past. In fact, Virelya tried to kidnap her daughter-in-law quite blatantly. However, Liu Shu decided to give her a second chance, and since then, Virelya had worked hard and perfectly taken over the job as the lead intelligence institution. If it was something that happened in the Golden Sap Empire, Virelya was bound to have information about it 99% of the time.

Naturally, her abilities to spread information were equally resourceful. Many communication and social networks could be influenced by her orders. Not perfectly, but she had undeniable weight. Liu Shu allowed it because Virelya managed all of that within the framework of the Golden Sap Empire's laws. As Liu Shu had repeatedly clarified, if you had the ability to create a monopoly while complying with the law, you were perfectly welcome to do so!

A monopoly under the law's watch meant an incredibly competitive and advanced business that made others look obsolete. In terms of information, very few other intelligence agencies could even hope to match Virelya's.

"I wanted to ask you to spread this information outside our Star System. Do you think it is possible to do so within a decade?" Virelya glanced at the root, which spat out a small storage device on her desk, and nodded.

"I'll check. Give me a few hours." She placed the device in her Biological Computer and had it process the information. As the Biological Computer processed it, she copied the information into a Traditional Computer for easy viewing and sharing. Some of her secretaries worked with Virelya to organize the information. In three hours, Virelya more or less had an idea of what Liu Shu wanted to spread.

"It is more than possible." The woman smiled.

"This type of information spreads even if you don't try. If we actively push it, nearby Solar Systems and powers will easily come across it and pass it from mouth to mouth where it needs to reach." If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Great. How long will it take?" Virelya pondered.

"I need to check in more detail, but my estimation is four years to spread to nearby Solar Systems, five years to reach important people, and six to seven years to spread further and become a viral phenomenon." Truthfully, Virelya's estimate was less time. This information was going to hit the information network like a planetary-class bomb. Still, it was better to be conservative and work to surpass those conservative deadlines. Liu Shu was more than satisfied.

"Great. As long as it can be done before fifteen years, it will be good enough." Virelya asked, curious.

"Why fifteen?"

"Right now, both the Covenant and Nexus have shifted their sights onto us. If they can move the public freely, they might be able to come up with a strange justification to join hands and deal with me despite their differences. If we strike before that, their cooperation will be impossible." Virelya leaned back, crossing her arms.

"Impossible is a strong word." With a soft chuckle, Liu Shu answered with certainty.

"In this case, I would describe it as a fitting word. The Covenant and Nexus's bad blood doesn't run for just a few years. It is a millennial feud that predates Balaya's taking over the position of Main World Tree from her predecessor. The times they've joined hands can be counted with one human hand, and even then, it was against existences that could threaten not their empires, but life itself." Deep space had many latent threats, many strange species, and many powerful enemies.

These events, which appeared from time to time like natural disasters, were always dealt with by combining efforts. The most dangerous among them were hive-type existences. Hive-Minds that parasitized Intelligent Species were incredibly dangerous and could go out of control far too quickly. Virelya asked.

"What about Lady Ignatia?" Liu Shu asked back.

"What about Mommy?" Virelya chuckled.

"I wanted to ask, what are you going to do with Ignatia's existence? Your armies have fought alongside the ants, and this time, there are witnesses. You can easily be labeled as a menace for keeping a Humanoid Ant Queen."

"Oh! You meant it that way. Don't worry, Xakira and the others are more than enough to whitewash Mommy's existence. I didn't just accept them because they were useful allies; they are perfect shields for Mommy." Virelya's intelligent eyes flashed for a second, and then she exclaimed.

"Ah. No wonder…" Nodding to herself, Virelya smiled and spoke.

"Alright, I will inform you if I have doubts. Please make sure to leave part of your consciousness here."

"Alright~. If you want to call me, use my name instead! I am more sensitive to it than Heavenly Willow."

"Understood." Liu Shu hummed and smiled.

"Alright, with that out of the way, I now need to match the information about to spread with my actions. I must, under no circumstances, be harsh with either the Nexus or Covenant populace." Not being harsh didn't mean giving them immunity, though. What better way to discipline society than laws? A society that has been conditioned not to resist or protest against a government will, even if it protests online, never overturn the government. They are far too fearful.

The Nexus, Covenant, and most modern societies Liu Shu had met were similar. She had tried this method in the past with Nualis and many other worlds she had conquered, and it worked nicely. What was the method? Change the law. Straight to the point and uncomplicated. Change the law and make sure society has enough second chances to adapt to them while showing the benefits. What were these benefits? Liu Shu's endless blessings, of course. If a person managed to comply with the law for five years, they got one buff.

As for newly born children, they got all buffs and, in case of breaking the law—minor transgressions only—they lost those titles. Liu Shu didn't actually have many prisons. Instead, the sentences were in the form of loss of <Titles>: She had been applying this type of punishment for a while across the Golden Sap Empire, and it worked absolute wonders. After all, if you didn't have Liu Shu's buffs, forget causing major crimes, even minor ones were complicated.

When a random civilian could, very easily at that, subdue you or overwhelm you in your work, then what could you even do? As the war finished, several starships left Ceperet and reached the nearby Nexus and Covenant Solar Systems. These people were the ones who were going to take over the government positions and clean up.

"But, beyond buffs, I need to accelerate and catch up to Nexus and Covenant technology. In terms of architecture, we are superior, but technology and convenience are still somewhat behind." It was not a problem. While Carter had cleaned up many libraries, data centers, and other information sources, he naturally couldn't destroy everything. Moreover, Namue had left without causing such a collapse.

"Usually, mixing, adapting, and digesting all the information from both the Nexus and Covenant would take several decades at best… But that's not true for me. <World Tree Wisdom (SSS Rank)>." Liu Shu closed her senses and spread her roots, absorbing books and piercing into active data centers left and right. With her SS- Tier Willpower and her other processing-focused abilities, Liu Shu was even quicker than a supercomputer when it came to absorbing information. Her mind expanded, ideas blooming one after another.

She quickly pierced through several technological bottlenecks, understanding how to expand not only in terms of technology, but also her original Biological Computers.

'With this, my <Star Reaching Lignified Tree>, <Moon Soul Lignified Tree> can also evolve further." There were a few <Star Reaching Lignified Trees> that had grown and reached their <First Ascension>. Even then, they were not strong enough to participate in wars. If they participated, a single wrong shockwave would've destroyed their shields and killed them. Her roots poked out of the void and reached out to caress the seven of them that were orbiting Cepeter to become accustomed to their bodies.

"How is it, babies?" One of the starships answered with a solemn tone.

"Mother. All my sensors are operative. My weaponry is still developing, but I can match and fight low-level <Astraelis> if I am given permission. Please, Mother, deploy me to a nearby <Astraelis> hunting ground." Liu Shu laughed gently. If she were human rather than a starship, Liu Shu was sure she would be an upright and serious woman. She gently caressed her hull and engines.

"Don't be impatient, love. When your Main Cannon becomes operative, I will give you some more freedom. Until then, make sure to develop the Starmap function to its full potential. I don't want my babies to get lost once they leave my sphere of influence." The seven starships answered with distinctly feminine and serious voices.

"Understood, Mother!" Liu Shu's roots stretched and hugged her starship babies tightly.

'So cute!'