Shortly after the war, the highest level of the Star Alliance received a detailed report from the front line of the Aisera Star System.

The report's description of the ancient relic weapon on the "Ancient Bell" satellite, and particularly Bai E's crucial role in activating it, garnered significant interest and high attention from the Star Alliance's Supreme Academy of Sciences and the Security Council.

Several encrypted communication requests were sent to the "Dawn Light," coming from high-level members or technical representatives of different departments within the Star Alliance, with wording either tactful or direct. The core purpose was hoping Bai E could share the specific method to activate the ancient technology, the "key" or authentication mechanism he sensed, and any information he perceived during the process.

They promised to offer generous rewards, greater authority, and even special status within the Star Alliance.

Bai E's response was a polite yet firm refusal.

He claimed he was merely "lucky" to resonate with the relic somehow, and the specific principles were not clear even to him, rendering them unreproducible and unteachable.

He attributed it all to "spiritual energy sensing" and "coincidences of battlefield conditions," effectively blocking the Star Alliance's further probing intentions.

He knew that once the Star Alliance obtained the key to this "rule weapon" which surpassed current technological levels, the changes in power dynamics it would trigger and its potential misuse risks were immeasurable.

Moreover, he instinctively felt that such power, perhaps, should not be easily controlled.

However, the report from the Star Alliance and the astonishing potential displayed by the "Ancient Bell" relic also drew intense attention from some nations among the "Sons of the Empire."

Particularly those nations keen on exploring unknown star domains and excavating ancient legacies to enhance their own strength.

Shortly after Bai E clearly refused the Star Alliance, a private invitation from the Golden Federation was delivered to Bai E through encrypted channels.

Within the invitation, high-level personnel from the Golden Federation expressed, in a very solemn manner, their "admiration" and "profound understanding" for Bai E's performance in the Aisera Star System, and proposed a cooperation offer:

They possessed coordinates of several suspected ancient civilization sites, likely of the same origin as the "Ancient Bell" relic technology, located in the undeveloped frontier star domains of the Milky Way.

These sites were fraught with dangers, with high exploration difficulty, and conventional probing means had limited success.

They hoped to invite Bai E, either as a "special consultant" or a "partner," to participate in joint explorations of these sites.

The Golden Federation would provide all fleet support, logistical support, and exploration teams, while Bai E only needed to provide his "unique spiritual energy perception and resonance ability" to assist in finding and attempting to activate the potential technology within the sites.

As a return, all technological data and artifacts obtained from the exploration would be shared between the two parties; the Golden Federation would also provide the "New Bauhinia" with a substantial financial aid, technology transfer, and most-favored-nation treatment within their sphere of influence.

This was an extremely tempting proposal.

Using resources on the level of the "Sons of the Empire" to explore those ancient relics which might contain tremendous power could undoubtedly greatly accelerate the technological development of the "New Bauhinia."

The other party clearly regarded him as a "special key" capable of unlocking the treasure trove.

Gazing at the invitation, Bai E fell into deep thought.

The Star Alliance had shown him the limitations of an organization, whereas the Empire's invitation displayed the unique value of individual power in certain fields, as well as the pragmatic and aggressive side of major powers.

After receiving the formal invitation from the Golden Federation, Bai E did not respond immediately but first engaged in thorough discussions with the core team aboard the "Dawn Light," especially with Helen, who had just arrived not long ago and was committed to integrating resources and technological development.

"The Golden Federation's proposal presents an opportunity for us, as well as an unknown risk."

After listening to Bai E's recount, Helen swiftly skimmed the details of the invitation and calmly analyzed, "They value your ability to activate the ancient relic on the 'Ancient Bell' satellite. This means their target sites are likely of the same origin as 'Hammer of Morning Star,' and might be more complex and dangerous. Cooperating with them is equivalent to us providing the 'key,' while they provide the 'venue' and 'protection,' sharing the exploration results."

She paused, looking at Bai E: "From a technological development standpoint, this is undoubtedly a shortcut to accelerating our understanding of ancient technology, catching up with, or even surpassing the technological level of the 'Sons of the Empire.' The knowledge within the 'Divine Fragment' is certainly valuable but is mostly scattered, profound fragments that require enormous resources and a long time to decipher, verify, and transform. In contrast, direct research on existing, possibly more complete ancient relics can yield twice the result with half the effort. As an established strong nation, the research team and resource support of the Golden Federation are immensely beneficial to us at this stage."

"But the risk lies in…" Helen's tone turned serious, "The Golden Federation is not a philanthropist. They have a keen interest in your 'ability.' During cooperation, they might find ways to explore the secret of your ability, or even attempt to replicate or control it. Moreover, the shared exploration results, they will certainly use their vast research system for deeper development and application. Whether we can keep up with the pace and hold onto core technological advantages is a concern. Additionally, the target sites themselves are undoubtedly fraught with crises far surpassing conventional battlefields."

Bai E nodded; Helen's analysis basically aligned with his judgment.

He looked out the porthole, with the hostilities in the Aisera Star System having come to an end, and the Alliance Fleet slowly regrouping, the top priority for the "New Bauhinia" was to rapidly accumulate strength in the post-war structure.