Chapter 409: Want to live? First hand over fleet command!

Qin Hao looked at him, "Oh? Isn't that the Heavenly Patrol Chairman?"

Qin Hao's voice was flat as water, yet every word struck to the heart,

"A year ago, you said this was my political fraud, didn't you? How come you believe it now?"

The Heavenly Patrol wished it could slap itself twice.

"We believe! We believe! We're stupid! We're blind!"

"Your Excellency Qin Hao, as long as the Yanhuang Civilization is willing to act, the council is willing… willing to hand over all command authority!"

"We'll give you anything you want! Even if it means giving you all our resources!"

At the point of life and death, any power, any resources, are just bullshit.

Only being alive is the hard truth.

Qin Hao straightened up slightly, wiping the smirk from his face.

His gaze pierced the screen, looking toward the encroaching void.

Ignoring the Heavenly Patrol Chairman's near-pleading cries over the comm channel,

His fingers lightly tapped the armrest of the command chair, producing a rhythmic sound.

Zhou Shaoqing, Nangong Lin, and all the senior officials of the Yanhuang Civilization present,

all focused their attention on Qin Hao, waiting for his final decision.

They knew that a single thought of Qin Hao at this moment would decide the fate of countless beings in the Laniakea Supercluster.

"Qin Hao, are we really supposed to save them?"

Nangong Lin's voice was cold and clear; she had no fondness for those fence-sitting civilizations of the Laya Council,

"Before, they were questioning us, even pulling tricks behind our backs. Now that the Overlord has descended, they suddenly remember us."

Zhou Shaoqing also frowned and added:

"The council's fleet organization is chaotic, its command system a mess. Even if we intervene, they might not coordinate effectively, and could even drag us down."

Qin Hao finally stopped the tapping.

He lifted his head, withdrawing his gaze from the ever-expanding 'void,' and fixed it on everyone's faces.

"Save? Of course we must save."

His answer surprised everyone.

"I'm not doing it for them, but for ourselves."

Qin Hao rose, walked to the massive holographic star map, where the dark region representing 'Return to Zero' had already consumed nearly one ten-thousandth of the Laniakea Supercluster's territory.

"The principle of 'when the lips are gone, the teeth feel the cold'—I trust you all understand. The Overlord's 'Return to Zero' strike is essentially a rule‑level formatting. The more matter and energy it consumes, the faster it spreads and the stronger it becomes."

"Let the council's fleet serve as cannon fodder, draining the 'Return to Zero' force, slowing its advance, to buy us more precious time."

"Our true battlefield is not the outskirts, but the Tranquil Sea—that is where we will make our final stand against the Overlord."

Those words made everyone suddenly understand.

Qin Hao never expected the council to defeat the Overlord from the start; all he wanted was a group heavy enough to serve as 'meat shields.'

"I understand."

Zhou Shaoqing's eyes regained their sharpness: "I'll immediately prepare the fleet, ready to support at any moment."

"No rush." Qin Hao waved his hand and reconnected the comm with the Heavenly Patrol.

On the screen, the Heavenly Patrol Chairman's face was already written with despair; seeing Qin Hao's figure reappear,

his eyes lit up,

"Mr. Qin Hao! You finally…"

"Cut the nonsense."

Qin Hao directly cut him off: "Want to live? Fine. But you'll have to play by my rules."

"Say it! Say it! We'll agree to any condition!" The Heavenly Patrol now has not a trace of chairman's dignity left.

"First, effective immediately, all sixth‑level civilizations in the Laniakea Supercluster must cease internal infighting and abandon all prejudices."

"Second, all civilizations' fleets must accept unified command and dispatch."

"Third, and most importantly:"

Qin Hao's voice became crystal clear: "I want to be the Chief Commander of this allied force."

The hall erupted in an uproar.

Although they had prepared to pay a huge price, handing over command of all fleets,

amounts to surrendering their very lives and fortunes into Qin Hao's hands.

"This…"

A civilization representative was about to raise an objection.

Qin Hao gave him no chance, directly projecting a new image onto the council hall's public screen.

On the screen was a massive fleet, its warships bearing diverse paint jobs, obviously from different civilizations.

They were gathering together, trying to build an energy barrier to block the void's spread.

However, the moment the pure darkness touched the barrier, it vanished as if it had never existed, silently and without a trace.

Immediately after, the fleet itself.

Hundreds of billions of warships were erased in just a few seconds by that intangible 'eraser.'

It was that cleanly, gone.

Such an ironclad fact is more convincing than any words.

All civilization representatives fell silent; their proud fleets were fragile before the Overlord.

The Heavenly Patrol Chairman knew he had no other choice.

He solemnly announced to all members of the virtual conference:

I, the Watcher Civilization, agree to nominate Mr. Qin Hao, leader of the Yanhuang Civilization, to serve as Chief Commander of the 'Pan-Laniakea United Defense Line'!

Crystal Armor Civilization, agree!

Fire Cloud Civilization, agree!

Ges Civilization, agree!

……

In the face of the threat of death, all prejudices and selfishness become insignificant.

One by one, civilization representatives expressed their positions.

Qin Hao calmly watched all this, his face showing no ripple.

What he was waiting for was this result.

Very good.

Qin Hao's voice sounded again, this time with absolute authority: 'Since I am the Chief Commander, I now issue the first order.'

All civilizations, immediately send your fleets to the designated coordinates.

His finger moved across the star map, and an outline of a defense line spanning tens of millions of light-years appeared.

We will use the dimensional stabilizer as a node to construct a joint defense line spanning the entire supercluster.

The defense line is divided into three echelons. The first echelon consists of civilizations such as the Shadow Civilization and the Wind-Speaker Civilization, which excel at reconnaissance and stealth, responsible for monitoring the movements of the 'Zero Return' area and reporting data in real time.

The second echelon, composed of the Crystal Armor Civilization, the Karasi Civilization, and all main fleets, you are the main firepower output of the defense line; your sole mission is to unleash firepower onto the 'Zero Return' area without regard to cost, draining its strength.

The third echelon, also the core of the defense line, is handled by our Yanhuang Civilization.

Qin Hao's voice paused, 'We will be responsible for the defense of the core area, as well as the purification work of areas contaminated by memes.'

The clear division, explicit tasks, allowed the originally chaotic council members to feel a sense of relief for the first time.

This young dictator, although domineering,

but in terms of strategy, he possesses a clarity and decisiveness they cannot reach.

Remember, this is a battle for survival for all of us.

Now, act!

With Qin Hao's command, the entire Laniakea Supercluster, this ancient machine rusted over hundreds of millions of years,

Under the threat of extinction, it began to operate at maximum efficiency, frenziedly.