Chapter 236: The Federation’s First Ally

The shuttle drifted down and landed gently on top of a Zhulong-class warship.

Reynold stepped out with several of his aides, descending the boarding ramp.

There wasn’t any grand welcome—just a single major waiting for them, who promptly led the group to a meeting room on board.

No sooner had they stepped inside than Reynold spotted a man and a woman already seated, waiting quietly.

He instantly understood: these two had to be the ones he was here to meet—and probably the highest-ranking officers in the fleet.

——

The entire meeting lasted about an hour.

On the way there, Reynold’s heart was pounding with anxiety, but as he left…

All his worries had vanished.

To hell with the Pure White Holy See! Let them rot!

Thinking back, when he first heard they wanted his civilization to become a subordinate of humanity, Reynold had been reluctant.

After all, the Kovaloan culture actually shared many similarities with humanity.

Maybe for most races, becoming a lower civilization attached to a more advanced one was just normal.

But not the Kovaloans. Their unique culture meant that kneeling to another power was worse than destruction.

That’s why they were among the few in the sector to refuse the Pure White Holy See.

Still, before this meeting Reynold had made up his mind. If bowing to this Level 4 civilization was the only way for the Kovaloans to survive…

Even if it meant being cursed for millennia, he’d go against the will of his people and make that call.

So even with some reservations, Reynold didn’t forget the decision he’d made before coming.

But when Lin Feng slid a copy of the Federation’s subordinate civilization agreement across the table…

Not only Reynold, but every one of his aides stared in stunned disbelief.

No matter how you looked at it, it wasn’t a forced subjugation contract at all—it was a partnership. No mandatory terms, no forced obligations. Everything was voluntary.

In fact, one clause specifically stated that the Federation would never coerce any subordinate civilization into anything.

Even if the Federation went to war, whether or not the subordinate civilizations sent their fleets would be completely voluntary.

If they did join in, the rewards would be generous—subordinate civilizations would earn points to exchange for anything they needed, even territory.

It was almost unbelievable.

Reynold couldn’t help but ask Lin Feng if he’d brought the wrong documents.

Which only made Lin Feng laugh, both exasperated and amused.

Once it was clear Lin Feng hadn’t made a mistake, Reynold—afraid the offer would be taken back—signed the agreement without hesitation.

After that, Lin Feng handed him a terminal for the Subordinate Civilization Platform.

Strangely though, once it was activated, Reynold felt something was off.

The platform had plenty of modules, including one for communication between subordinate civilizations.

But…

There seemed to be only one civilization in the whole system—his own.

Perplexed, Reynold asked Lin Feng about it. The answer shattered everything he thought he knew.

Lin Feng’s response was simple.

“We aren’t from this star system. We come from the Milky Way galaxy. And because of the Dead Void, there’s no way to link up with the Milky Way for now.”

“So, for now, the local Subordinate Civilization Platform has to run independently.”

“At least until we can fix the intergalactic communications problem.”

“And Kovalo is the first civilization the Federation has accepted as a subordinate since arriving here.”

“That’s why, for the time being, your civilization is the only one on the whole system.”

Reynold didn’t really know where the Milky Way was, but when Lin Feng brought up a star chart, everything clicked.

He might not recognize the names, but one look at the map told him which galaxy it was.

After all, the Large Magellanic Cloud—the galaxy they called home—was known to every civilization, even the lowest ones, as a satellite of another.

Never in a million years did Reynold expect his civilization’s new overlords to be from the Milky Way.

A galaxy with ten times as many stars as this one.

If he had to compare: the Milky Way was a metropolis, while the Large Magellanic Cloud was a rural outskirt.

Lin Feng went on to explain that not every civilization qualified to become a Federation subordinate.

If the Federation hadn’t just arrived and desperately needed data, and if Kovalo hadn’t been the first they ran into…

Otherwise…

They would have to go through a potential assessment for entry into the Federation system.

Lin Feng even gave some assessment examples that made Reynold and his team break out in cold sweat…

If they’d had to go through the normal process, chances were their civilization would never have made it.

The examples Lin Feng offered were terrifying—those so-called ‘potential assessments’ sounded practically impossible.

At the same time, Reynold was deeply grateful for his civilization’s luck in being the first to greet the Federation after their arrival.

——

One day later.

Reynold returned to Lin Feng’s warship.

This time, he’d brought a team of over a hundred people along with piles of data.

Next, he would accompany Lin Feng’s fleet to the Federation’s local base—Kori.

After all, the Kovalo Federation urgently needed the Federation’s help, but Lin Feng didn’t have the authority to go to war with a Level 3 civilization on his own.

So Reynold planned to meet Lin Yu in person and formally present a request as a Federation subordinate.

Moments later, thirty warships fired up their hyperspace engines, tearing open a gateway and cruising into a stable hyperspace corridor…

Reynold was left speechless.

He and his entire entourage gawked out the portholes, dazed by what they saw.

“General Lin Feng, is this that legendary jump everyone talks about?”

“No, this isn’t a jump. What you’re seeing isn’t subspace—this is hyperspace!”

“Hyperspace…”

Honestly, Reynold barely even knew what the term meant.

He’d only heard of jump technology in rumors, legends really.

But hyperspace? That was entirely new to him.

But one thing he knew for sure—it was something extraordinary.

That much, he could understand.

“Where are we heading now?”

“Kori, in the Driss Star Region.”

“Driss Star Region?”

“Yes, what you guys call the Forbidden Zone for Civilizations.”

Lin Feng cracked a smile as he spoke.

“What?!”

That put quite a scare into Reynold and his group.

But then again, these were Level 4 civilization folks, with tech leagues ahead of jump drives.

Thirty-eight light years of empty void? No big deal for them…

For Level 2 or 3 civilizations it really was a forbidden zone, but for Level 4? Just a minor hurdle.

“So…how long until we arrive?”

“Well, it’s a bit under 300 light years away, so maybe a little over a day.”

Lin Feng answered casually, as if it was nothing.

Reynold and the others could only stare, dumbstruck.

Hiss…